Twins
by Rei-chu Asakura
Summary: AU. Shinichi and Kaito are twins, famous in their own fields of interest. One day, something drove them to switch roles, and Shinichi got to know Kaito's best friend, Ran. -ShinRan & semi-KaitoAoko
1. Instigation

**Twins**

Summary: When Shinichi and Kaito become twins – yes, twins, bearing the surname Kudo – things become different and wackier. Being famous guys in their school, how would their love life bloom? XD ShinichixRan and a bit of KaitoxAoko. R&R please ^^

Author's note: I do not own Detective Conan nor its characters. I'm just borrowing them for some idea of mine that has been recurring for two years now. =P I think they suit the plot well. XD

**Chapter 1: Instigation**

It was mid September in Beika City, 6:30 in the morning. Students of Teitan High were gathered up again at the school grounds the way they do almost everyday. It was not because they are having a flag ceremony or something. It was because…

"Kyaaa! Shinichi and Kaito! They're coming!"

Girls from all the year levels were having their morning exercise – adoring and cheering for the two damn good-looking guys who make their mornings complete – Shinichi and Kaito Kudo.

"I don't get it. What's so astonishing about them?" Suzuki Sonoko uttered amidst the wave of fan girls they were passing through.

The meek girl beside her replied, "Well, they are nice. They can do a lot. They-"

Sonoko cut, "Ran, I know they are good-looking, they're talented and all, but this has been going on for about three years already! Every morning these girls act as if celebrities were visiting our school."

"Hm," Ran thought for a second as they continued walking towards the school building, ignoring the drooling and hyped up girls on the sides. "They are like celebrities anyway, considering the fact that they appear on tv sometimes. I mean, Shinichi solves cases and is a famous detective while Kaito has a well-known rock band, and they both get featured in news and tv shows and are famous over the internet…"

Sonoko grimaced at Ran and stopped to point at the event by the school gate. "Look at them, don't they have a life? Every morning they welcome twin princes. Don't they ever get tired of it? Aren't they getting used to how those two look?"

Ran chuckled. "Sonoko, you're taking things seriously. Let them express their admiration. After all, Kaito and Shinichi are not becoming airheads because of that. And besides, I think they deserve those fans anyway."

Sonoko leaned towards Ran and observed her eyes for a while making her blush.

"What?"

"Nothing." Sonoko smirked after standing straight again. "Your subjective eyes just told me how special Shinichi really is for them and how blissful your Monday morning has become."

"Eh? That was- How did you- mou~" Ran pouted.

"Haha! I really know how to read you, don't I?" Sonoko teased. "Tell me, how long are you planning to keep that to yourself? Don't you want to confess already? Being your best friend, Kaito can help you with him."

Ran's face flushed crimson. "Hey, it's not like that. I just admire Shinichi, that's all. I'm not into him that much for me to confess or anything."

"Yeah right, tell that to my great great grandfather," Sonoko sarcastically replied. "Hey, why not make a bet?"

"On what?"

"If Shinichi, by any means, comes to our classroom today, it means that you two are meant for each other. Plus, you will have to confess to him and tell him how you have been liking him these past five years."

"EHH?"

Sonoko laughed at Ran's worried but blushing expression. "Relax. Shinichi going to our classroom? It's not likely to happen anyway. I mean, what are the odds of something unusual like that to happen today." She then flashed her evil grin and said, "But if it does, I say, destiny paved way. Ohohohohoho~"

As the two headed to their class, the star-studded twins hurried as well to get to their respective classrooms.

Though they are twins and are in the same year level, Shinichi and Kaito do not belong to the same class/section. Their school basically shuffles the class lists every year so that students will have a chance to get acquainted with all of their batchmates. This has been a wonderful idea for the girls who aspire to sit beside their 'ouji-sama' Shinichi and Kaito Kudo.

The day has indeed started fine, not to mention, the week because it was a Monday. But for someone like Shinichi, his 11am class was enough to devastate all the hopes he had for the rest of the day.

'_I've got to get to Kaito! I can't waste time!'_ Shinichi told himself as he dashed from hallway to hallway. It was lunch time so there were a lot of people to avoid getting knocked into. The music room where his previous class was held was a floor and 18 meters away from his twin's classroom.

As soon as he arrived, he quickly opened the door and came across a girl who was just about to get out of the room. "Oh, sorry," he said in a soft voice, having thought he was a bit forceful in opening the door which they both held on the opposite sides.

And the lucky girl to ever get this close to Kudo Shinichi and to hear him say the magic word – the word that can heal any wounded heart especially when said with a very exquisite tone – was none other than… Mouri Ran!

Seeing her unreachable prince inches away from her made her heart melt more than what calculus did to her brain. It was indeed a moment to cherish.

"Is my brother there?" Shinichi politely asked, bringing Ran back to her senses. All she was able to do in response was to nod and step aside to give way. Sonoko who was a few steps behind her tried her best to hide her smirk as she watched.

"Boy, you sure are a fortunate magnet!" Sonoko remarked when she and Ran got out of the room afterwards. "You have Kaito as your guy best friend, and then, Shinichi came here and bumped into you—Wait a second. Shinichi? Here? Oh my gosh, Ran, our bet! What I said came true!"

Ran knew it before Sonoko realized, but she didn't know how she should react. She just consoled herself and thought, '_It was just a bet. It wasn't even a prayed and asked-for one. It doesn't mean anything.'_

Meanwhile, Shinichi approached Kaito's desk, sat on his toes and showed him his sparkling puppy eyes with matching pout. "What now?" Kaito asked, his brows rising together upon recognizing his brother's I-need-your-help-badly expression.

Knowing Shinichi more than anyone else did – he was someone who doesn't ask for help unless he really can't do anything about the matter – Kaito knew that it was probably something about a girl, cooking or music.

"I have a practical test tomorrow and I can't play a classical piece the way it should be played," Shinichi blurted out, as if the world was going to end if they didn't do anything immediately. This cool, clever and somewhat aloof-looking guy turned out to be a superman with music being his kryptonite.

His brother, however, found him comical. "I thought it was something worse." He laughed. "You looked like you've seen a murder."

Shinichi scowled at the irony.

"So what can I do for you, my dear brother?" Kaito asked with a teasing tone as he packed his things into his bag. "Do you want me to sneak in tomorrow and borrow Fujiyama-sensei's record book and write a 'passed' mark on your name before you get called? Or do you want me to-"

"Just teach me, that's all." Shinichi chuckled, "You'll just make it harder for you to do that phantom thief method you're so fond of."

"Nah-uh." Kaito showed off one of his magic tricks and made the pen he was holding disappear.

They both stood up and headed to the canteen. "Alright, maybe it would be easier for you to act like a burglar and mess up with her records for me, but I think teaching me would be the better choice, somehow." Shinichi grinned sheepishly.

And so, the two agreed to have piano lessons after school for the price of an I.O.U. (I owe you) ticket from Shinichi.

"Hey, if this turns out well, I'll set you up on a date with Aoko." Shinichi grinned knowing that his brother has a crush on this classmate of his and that making her the prize for the favor would surely make his twin want to play the piano with all his might.

Kaito smirked. "Just eat, you smarty pants."

#######

That afternoon, Kaito had to attend a band meeting so he told his brother to just wait for him at home for the music tutorial. However, on Shinichi's way home, he passed by an establishment, where some police cars were parked and a lot of people were crowding outside. His detective instincts told him to give in to his curiosity and check out what was happening.

There he saw Inspector Megure, who was handling what turned out to be a murder case, and he ended up assisting in the investigation like he usually does. Driven by his passion for mysteries and cases, he completely forgot about the deal with his brother.

Just as the moon was settling up on its night time position, Shinichi found out the last piece of the puzzle he was solving. He then declared, "The killer is none other than the victim's best friend, Hayashima-san."

Of course, everyone in the crime scene was surprised of what he just said. It was implausible for a man to kill his best friend after all. But Shinichi's deductions were able to make them believe that man has tendencies to be vulnerable and vengeful enough for him to forget all the good times he shared with a friend.

The murderer, a 30-year old businessman, turned out to be a victim as well. As what he has confessed, his long-time love, Nanase Hitomi, was lured by the victim, Hasegawa Yujiro to marry him after making her believe in so many ways that Hayashima Komaru, the killer, died while he was in the United States for 3 years. When Hayashima came back to Japan, he couldn't do anything about his best friend and his girlfriend's married life. He thought that this was the girl's choice so he let them be. But when he was having a drink with Hasegawa, the latter obliviously gave a hint about his evil scheme that ruined Hayashima's whole life and dreams. Hayashima, being smart and all, sought for facts to find out the truth. Raged with the awareness of this big betrayal, Hayashima became so determined to kill this treacherous best friend of his. The last thing he said before being brought to jail was that he loved the girl Nanase so much. "All my life, I have been working hard for her to have a good future with me. I didn't know that the friend that I trusted most would be the one to ruin everything," Hayashima finished.

#######

'_Love… What a powerful thing…' _Shinichi thought on his way home._ 'It can make people happy; it can make people cry. The sad thing is that it can also make people kill.'_

The peace brought by the serene residential street he was passing through gave him the time to think… to reflect about how people can be nowadays… and how he forgot his piano lessons that night!

"Shimatta!" he mumbled as he hurried home, simpering in the process. Then, without any warning, it rained. Good thing he had an umbrella in his bag that he was able to dart to his destination undisturbed.

#######

"Mou… How am I supposed to bring these home dry?" Ran whined to herself. She was stuck in the rain, finding sanctuary beneath a laundry shop's cantilever roof. Having such important documents from her mom for a case that her dad was working on, she couldn't just dash into the rain to get home.

"How stupid of me to forget to bring an umbrella when it was already the typhoon season," she blamed herself.

All of a sudden, a familiar figure appeared in front of her and handed something.

"Here. You need it more than I do."

Ran's heart pounded in an instant. _'Sh-shinichi? No, it's Kaito… No, I can't tell, his hair is drenched enough that they look alike!' _Frozen from the surprise, she stared at the person in front who was bathing in the rain for her, hoping to recognize him sooner.

The unidentified person flashed a gentle smile, fetched her free hand and slipped the blue umbrella into it. Ran was not able to mutter any word, because he scampered away as soon as she got hold of the umbrella.

Ran was left astounded yet confused. Her face, however, remained warm and red amidst the cold rain as she started walking to her house. _'If that was Kaito, why didn't he talk to me more properly? Was he really in a hurry that much? But… If that was Shinichi then… Why?' _Her face blushed madly with the mere thought.

#######

Shinichi discreetly opened the gate and sneaked into their house. To his dismay, his brother was well aware of his late arrival and he welcomed him with a line that is usually said by housewives to their husbands who come home late unannounced.

"And just where have you been?"

Shinichi grined and rubbed his head. "Ehe. I kind of solved a case and forgot about our agreement?" His tone was more questioning rather than stating.

"Sheesh, you're the older one. Why do you have to come home soaked from the rain? You should be a bit more responsible." Kaito nagged as he threw a towel to his twin.

"Err, some reasons…" Shinichi grinned. He then changed the topic and tried to lighten up his brother's mood. "What's for dinner, onii-chan?"

"Don't you 'onii-chan' me now." Kaito replied, pretending to be angry, yet still smiling. "Take a bath first," he then ordered.

After dinner, Shinichi began showing signs of having caught a cold. He was sneezing consecutively, and he started speaking as if his nose were clamped.

"Can you still play?" Kaito asked in concern as he sat down on a chair beside their grand piano, crossing his arms in front of his chest in the process.

"Of course!" Shinichi responded as enthusiastic as he could before gulping down a cold medicine. "Let's get this over with!"

After an hour and a half of unsuccessful attempts to play the piece Fur Elise without any mistake, Shinichi started getting drowsy, and soon, he instinctively laid himself on the couch when his piano sensei Kaito was not watching.

"What the-" Kaito sighed.

He ended up grabbing a blanket for his brother who had fallen asleep. As he did so, he saw a childhood picture of the two of them in Shinichi's room. They were wearing similar clothes and similar hair styles and only their mom could tell which was which. He smiled at the photo before this reminiscence suddenly gave him an idea.

"Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Kaito laughed.

#######

The next morning, Shinichi woke up, still a bit heavy-headed because of his cold.

"Ohayou!"

To his surprise, a mirror image greeted him energetically. "Am I still asleep?" he kidded, rubbing his eyes.

"Come on Kai-chan, wake up already!"

"Kai-chan?"

"We're going to be late. I still have a piano practical test to perfect." This bizarre person laughed.

Shinichi sat up. "Piano? Wait, you are- I'm not-"

The other one gave Shinichi a 'ride on!' look, and he realized what was happening and said, "Oh, I get it. I'm Kaito, and I think I need to fix my hair now because I think I look more like Shinichi now," he said weakly before chuckling and standing up.

The two of them laughed as they prepared their things for school. Kaito was obviously excited in switching roles with his brother, while Shinichi just OK'd everything.

"Hey Shinichi!" Shinichi called his brother in a bit more enthusiastic tone now. "How does Kaito tame his messy hair? Do you know?"

"I don't know, I think it's sort of natural, the stylishly messy way it is." Kaito smirked. "It also gave me a hard time raising my Shinichi bangs like stimulated bananas, you know." He laughed.

###############

To be continued…

###############

Jan jajan!

What will happen to Shinichi's practical test?

Did the twins really switch places?

Will anyone learn about this?

Who really gave Ran the umbrella?

How far can germs from your sneeze travel?

Find out on the next chapter! XD


	2. An Appalling Way to Meet

**Author's Notes:** I don't own Detecive Conan, that's all. xp I hope you enjoy this one! I made it will love! -big smile-

**Chapter 2: An Appalling Way to Meet**

It was a cold but bright September morning. Everyone in Beika started the day with a bang because the news affirmed that the storm that has been bugging their neighbor town and giving Beika itself offshoot rains for three days went away already.

The streets, however, were still full of remnants from the final shower the previous night.

"Ran, can we slow down a bit? My legs are getting wet from the puddles," Sonoko complained, checking the back of her blue skirt for any water or mud blots.

Ran sheepishly smiled. "Sorry. I didn't notice I was walking too fast."

"What were you thinking anyway? You look excited or nervous or something."

"Really?" Ran then sought for words to explain, edginess more evident in her. "Well, yesterday, I got stuck in the rain and then, someone gave me this umbrella." She showed a small blue retractable umbrella.

"Cute! I've never seen one like it before – small and bluey. It reminds me of the cool heartthrob thief in the anime we used to watch when we were kids. That person really loves the color white, doesn't he? But the blue umbrella he had in one episode was the only exception," Sonoko ceaselessly said. "Anyway, what's the thing with that umbrella? Looks harmless to me." She shrugged and laughed, then turned to glance at the new arrival shoes seen from a store window.

"It was either Shinichi or Kaitou who lent this," Ran continued, eyes locked on the umbrella as they walked on. "I wasn't sure because he was already under the rain when I saw him. His hair was wet and down."

Sonoko turned to Ran and smirked right away. "Oh, so you're worried." She mimicked Ran's voice, acted giddy and said, "Oh my~ What if it was Shinichi? What would I do?~"

"Sonoko!"

The latter laughed. "Come on Ran, whoever it was…" She paused, long enough for Ran to get impatient.

"Whoever it was…? What?"

"It was destiny's plan! Unmei no, unmei!"

Ran sighed, smiling a bit. "You always say that."

#######

Meanwhile, the Kudo twins were also walking to school.

One of them wore a face/medical mask, the other one, pouting for some reason.

"Why do you have to wear that?" the one whose bangs were up complained.

"I have a cold. I don't want anyone to get sick as well," The one whose bangs were, on the other hand, messily gelled down, replied lazily before yawning.

"That's a minus point to my fans. This sucks."

The former found it amusing and chuckled. "Do you really have to worry about that?"

"Shinichi- I mean, Kaitou-chan, it matters a lot to me, you know. What would Aoko think?"

"She doesn't even know you." Shinichi burst into laughter.

"Hmp!"

"Which reminds me… Why did we switch this early anyway? My music class is still four hours away." Shinichi asked, trying to figure out if the reason he had in mind was right.

His brother got alarmed. "Uhm, because- because you're sick. We would be caught if we don't take care of details like that."

Shinichi sarcastically nodded as his lips formed a smirk inside the mask. "Sick, huh?" He pretended to be clueless. "I thought it was something about Aoko or sitting beside her in my first class."

"Of course not. I'm just concerned with my brother, that's all." Kaitou raised his brows twice as he smiled mischievously. "Get well soon, okay." He tapped his twin's shoulder.

"For you, I WILL." Shinichi responded, imitating his brother's facial expression.

When they arrived at school, the usual thing happened, but this time, there was something added.

"Aww~ Kaitou-sama is sick," were the lines heard repeatedly. Girls were handing out handkerchiefs, cold candies, and even bottles of water to Shinichi. He just smiled at them and even though it was just his eyes that were revealed, the girls still melted, seeing these crystalline blue eyes smiling with sincerity.

'_Oh boy. They must not notice I'm a bit different from him,'_ Shinichi thought as he went to Kaitou's class. He tried his best not to catch much attention only to fail. He had to smile to all of them, because he was Kaitou the friendly kid and this was what that guy does everyday.

The twins were actually a bit of the mysterious type – one of the things that girls found marvelous about them. No matter how much you know about these two, there's a lot more to learn, that's why girls never get tired of them. But it was Kaito who was friendlier in a sense that he entertains his fan girls, he replies to fan mails, and he mingles with the guys in his class more than his twin brother does. It was because Shinichi, being a high school detective, was often busy with cases and mysteries to solve causing him to lack a rich social life. The police force usually called for his help after classes, and sometimes he had to take days off from school when a tough case was assigned to him. His parents and Inspector Megure, who was like an uncle to him, were first against this but being able to maintain good grades in spite of his job, they shored him up eventually.

"Get well soon Kai-chan!"

"Do you want me to take care of you, Kaitou-sama?"

"Kaitou! Need help with your things?"

"Kid, is that you?"

"Aw, Kai-Kai. You're still cute even when half of your face is covered!"

"Kaitou-kun, I hope you get well."

"Tou-chan! What happened to you?"

"My, my, K. You shouldn't have played in the rain you know."

'_Wow, my brother sure has a lot of friends… and nicknames.'_ Shinichi chuckled to himself.

When he entered his classroom, a beam of sunlight from the window struck his eyes badly. "Ow… Now that's what I call a bright and warm welcome."

With eyes still blurred by the light, he rummaged through the concerned crowd for his seat. _'Crap, I think I'm starting to have a headache.'_

As he sat on a seat near the window, a girl approached him, stooped, and said, "You're on the wrong seat, mister."

He looked up to see a familiar face – a face whose radiance was intensified by the morning light that came from his left. Unaware of what he was doing, he seized the seconds, which seemed to pass by so slow, to take note of this girl's features more. She had a long brownish-black hair tucked behind her ears, with her bangs parsimoniously flowing on her forehead. She had eyes similar to his. These blue irises were as if conversing with anyone who looks at them closely. Without knowing it, he stood up while his eyes remained locked on hers.

Ran snapped him out of his scrutiny. "This isn't the first time you saw me you know." She chuckled.

"I know. It's weird," Shinichi murmured as he sat down on the chair Ran pointed at, the one just in front of his previous seat.

"Hey," Ran called and came to his front again. Sonoko stood beside her.

Before Shinichi could respond, he felt a stabbing pain on his head and he twitched a bit.

Ran didn't notice how he was since she was digging for something in her bag. "Yesterday, you were the one who gave me this right?" She showed him the umbrella.

Shinichi recognized it and nodded. _'So I was right. The girl in the rain and the girl I saw in Kaitou's class yesterday were one.'_

"I thought so." Ran flashed her gentlest smile. "Thanks, Kaitou."

Shinichi remembered who he was supposed to be today and that the person who gave the umbrella was really him as himself. He thought, _'But if I say that it wasn't me, they would wonder why I'm the one who's sick. I guess it's alright that way.'_

"I'm sorry you caught a cold because of me." Ran looked down waiting for him to respond.

But "Hachoo!" was his reply. Shinichi had his mask off and his mouth and nose still covered with a hanky as he waited for another one coming. "Haachoo!" and there it went.

Sonoko spoke all of a sudden, "Wow, you cover your sneeze, good boy," and then she laughed.

Shinichi scowled and muttered, headache still bothering him, "Of course I should. A sneeze can exceed a speed of 100 miles per hour. Anyone could get infected."

"That's so nice of you to think of others first," Ran commented. "Wait, what's this?" She took something from Shinichi's forehead with her finger. It was something clear and like jelly. "Yuck, is this from your nose?"

"YUCK!" The two girls laughed.

"No! That was from my hair~" He thought explaining might just cause trouble so he chose to keep quiet. "Nevermind," he muttered as he stuffed his face, facing the wall, on his arms on his desk.

"Oh, here's your umbrella, Kaitou. Thanks again and… I'm sorry." Ran smiled sheepishly as she whispered even without Shinichi looking. She placed the umbrella beside his arm.

When the two girls left him, he tried massaging his temple and grumbled, "I hate headaches…"

#######

Meanwhile, the real Kaito was thrilled deep down his bone marrows as he approached the seat his brother told him about. There, on the third row, next to the seat by the window, sat the girl whom his eyes have been waiting to see. "Aoko-chan~" He grinned dreamily as if almost drooling.

"Ohayou!" he greeted as he sat down, smiling like a child who has just been given a candy cane.

Aoko, on the other hand, found it weird that this usually silent seatmate of hers was actually greeting her a good morning. "Uh, oh~kay. Uhm, ohayou, Kudo-kun." She returned a smile, which made Kaito quiver with delight.

"So... How are things going on?" Kaito cupped his chin with a hand on his desk as he positioned to gaze at the girl to his left.

"Huh?" Aoko raised a brow at him, stopping what she was doing in the process.

"I mean, what keeps you busy these days? How has your life been?" he expounded, tone so gentle and smile so charming.

Aoko turned a bit worried. "You're acting weird today…"

"Well," Kaito tossed her a gorgeous smirk in return, leaned in closer to her and said, "Would you mind if I stay this weird for the rest of the day?"

And so, this weird day went on with the twins disguising as each other. For the past 3 hours, nobody discerned what they did. Although some people, like Aoko, noticed that Kudo Shinichi was a bit more dynamic today – reciting in class, humming while writing, and talking a lot than usual – they just supposed that something might have just made him the way he was at the moment. Some even thought that maybe when one of the twins is down and sick, the other one becomes the opposite – lively and bubbly.

The real Shinichi, however, was suffering from a serious headache without anyone else knowing. Though weak and irritated, he tried his best to do the tasks his role was supposed to do. Good thing that the seatwork in physics was easy for him, having solved a case before that had a similar trick as that of the problem. But as the time passed, his headache became more and more intense. He waited for the lunch break to come so he could get a medicine, since he didn't want to skip classes for his brother's sake. _'One hour away, I can hold on to this,'_ he thought as he rested his head on his desk, facing the wall.

"Kaito, are you alright?" a familiar voice asked.

The next teacher was late; everyone had the chance to loiter loudly. Unfortunately for Shinichi, his headache seemed to amplify the noise he was hearing that he was thinking if he should yell and hush them all up or not. He heard the question given to him but as irritated as he was, he just forced a nod and remained in his position.

"If you need something just tell me okay?"

He nodded for the second time then tried to refocus his mind from the annoying pain and noise. He then remembered that it was time for his practical test in music. _'I almost forgot that! I wonder how he's doing there…'_

#######

"Sugoi~" Everyone in class, as well as the audience by the open doors – teachers and passers by, was struggling to hold their awe for the person manipulating the piano keys.

As his fingers gracefully ran across the black grand piano, Kaitou had all the eyes on him. The piece he chose to play, Minute Waltz by Frederic Chopin, gave every being present a heavenly sensation. It was as if they were dancing and running around in the meadows, where a light wind blows, making the grass and flowers sway to the tune in merriment.

Even their music teacher, an old maid, Ms. Fujiyama, was passionately waving her hand as if conducting an orchestra when the song reached the slow part. She even had her eyes closed, picturing in mind all the beauty of nature where she could wander with her prince charming while listening gleefully to this melody.

When the song arrived at the chorus again, everybody stood up, grabbed a partner and waltzed around the room.

"Oh boy…" Aoko muttered when a male teacher took her hand and danced with her upon noticing that she was the only one remaining in her seat.

Kaitou, on the other hand, smiled when he saw how cute she was when in an awkward situation. You wouldn't know if she was about to blush in embarrassment or about to punch the teacher in the face for bringing her to where she was. _'Kawaii!'_ he thought.

When the piece reached its end in a very remarkable way, a loud round of applause was heard, followed by a lot of compliments. Kaitou stood up and bowed to them. To his audience, he looked like an elegant prince, bowing down at his princess in gratefulness after they had their dance.

#######

Lunch break eventually came.

Shinichi brought out his phone to send a mail to his brother asking him to get a medicine for headache. Merely standing up made his head spin so he preferred to ask for his twin's help. While he was unaware of what he was doing, someone noticed a detail that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Hey, Kai! New phone?" Ran asked, popping out of nowhere. She was referring to her friend's dark blue LG 490 flip flop.

"Uh, er, my brother and I had a mix up with our things this morning. I got his phone and he got mine" he explained briefly and monotonously.

"Oh." Ran giggled. "Cute, it looks like Batman's car."

Cupping his chin in the process, Shinichi examined his phone and realized, "Hehe, I guess you're right."

"Won't you be eating lunch with us today?"

"I'm fine. You go ahead." He turned his eyes away from her.

"You should eat something. How will you get better if you don't eat?" Ran was insistent.

Headache still bothering him, Shinichi replied coldly, "I don't want to eat. Leave me alone."

Although Ran found him weird, she just considered the fact that her friend is sick, and that perhaps it was his cold that was causing him to be a bit ill-tempered.

Suddenly, a familiar melodic voice sounded from the door. "Hey there, Ran!"

"Kaitou-kun?" Ran mumbled confused, as she faced the person approaching her direction.

The real Kaitou sweatdropped and cleared his throat. "Ahem! I mean… How's my brother doing, Mouri-san?" He flashed his gentlest smile that made Ran's heart beat violently.

Recognizing who this person was supposed to be, Ran searched for words and was able to compose, "Uhm, he's fine, I guess." She found herself lost in the eyes of the person she was talking to, so she lowered her gaze and looked straight – but that straight meant looking at his lips. That didn't help, as she got more nervous. "I mean- Uh, he's not uhm fine… but-"

Kaitou stopped her by leaning in closer to her face, which surprised her consequently, stiffening her whole being. She managed to look at him again, eye to eye.

Sonoko on the side had on mind, _'Wow, Ran's luck is striking again!'_ She tried hard to stifle her 'ohohoho!'

Kaitou spoke once again, "Could somebody call God?"

"Eh?" Ran and her classmates were confused.

Kaitou continued, "Because He left an angel here." With that said, he chuckled, Ran blushed, and Shinichi half-heartedly smiled, thinking, 'My brother sure is flirty sometimes.'

Kaitou's attention then shifted to his twin brother. "Here's your medicine." He placed a pill on his table and then a bottle of water.

"Thanks," the one cupping his face on his seat said weakly.

Kaitou patted Shinichi's head, acting as if he's the older one. "You get better, okay?" He turned to Ran and put his right hand on her shoulder as he smiled. "Thanks for taking care of my brother. Ja ne." Afterwards, he left the room quietly, smiling at the girls on his way.

When he got outside, he chuckled to himself like a naughty little boy who just pulled a prank on his teacher. "Ran's lucky. I'm such a good best friend."

Meanwhile, inside the room, as soon as 'Shinichi' left, Ran exploded in sheer bliss. But since she wasn't the type of person who would scream out loud "Kyaaaa!", she turned to her girl best friend Sonoko, held her arms and shook them, mixed emotions evident on her crimson face.

"Yes Ran, I know how you feel. I'm right here for you," Sonoko pacified her.

Ran has always been admiring Kudo Shinichi. From the first time she saw him, back in second year junior high, she felt something special and this feeling recurred whenever they have any contact or whenever Ran was fortunate enough to acquire his attention.

Being the one who was extrovert, Sonoko ended up screaming and jumping, as if she were Ran's spokesperson. "Ran~ You lucky lucky girl~ Shinichi knows you and is even entrusting you his brother!"

Ran nodded earnestly, she couldn't hold back the smile and blush on her face.

"Kyaaa! I'm so happy for you, Ran!" Sonoko exclaimed, still jumping with Ran.

"You two are so noisy," someone suddenly entered.

Sonoko approached the source of the voice and slapped his desk. "Kaitou, aren't you happy for your best friend? Don't be so grumpy." She laughed.

"What's the big deal?" Shinichi snapped.

The former smirked. "Hey, you're just jealous, aren't you?"

"Shut up." He turned to massaging his aching temples instead.

Sonoko laughed evilly, assuming her reason was right.

Ran, on the other hand, approached Shinichi and said, "Sonoko, don't be mean to him. If it weren't for him, Shinichi wouldn't come here and talk to me." She leaned closer to him and suddenly pinched his cheeks. "Mmm! You're so cute. Thanks, Kaitou!"

Surprised with the attack, Shinichi was not able to do anything except for screaming his pain out.

"Ho~e? Kaitou, you're hot." Ran put her palm on Shinichi's forehead. "You have a fever!"

Shinichi did not respond.

"You should go to the infirmary, Kai. I'll accompany you," Ran suggested.

But Shinichi refused, saying, "I couldn't." He thought he should keep his promise to do Kaitou's tasks in class and not to flunk in any of them, and staying at the school clinic would not be in conjunction with that. _'I know this is stupid but I'm a man who keeps my word.'_

Ran, however, insisted he should go. She spoke as if she could read Shinichi's mind. "Kaitou… You don't have to stay in class and complete today's school tasks if you're sick. Sonoko and I would just lend you our notes and we'll tell our teachers about your condition."

But to everybody's surprise, Shinichi replied, "Didn't I just say I couldn't? Don't go meddling in my affairs!"1

Upon hearing those piercing words, Ran fell speechless.

Sonoko, then again, stood up for her. "Hey, watch it, you're being mean!"

"Why, if it weren't for her I wouldn't have gotten this stupid cold, headache and fever anyway!" Shinichi retorted, increasing the terror the other people around them were sensing.

Before things got worse, Ran put her hands on Sonoko and Shinichi's shoulders and said, "Stop it, both of you." She looked down but tried to make her voice sound cheerful. "We shouldn't fight over this. Don't worry I know what to do."

With that said, she dashed out of the room leaving the two and the concerned classmates thinking of how she was really feeling.

_To be continued_

#######

**Author's Notes:**

Teden! ^o^ finally… after all these years… -laughs out loud- I hope you enjoyed this chapter that I cooked for, I think, three weeks? Hehe… ^_^;; sorry for the long wait.. For the next chapters, hmm I'll try to make them a bit shorter so I can update a bit sooner. Hehe.. ^-^

Oh, thank you windtamer01 and xxxNamiCxxx for your reviews! n.n Reviews are inspiring, ne? ^-^ I hope I have improved in describing the characters and with the pace. But I will still keep those things in mind.. =)

Also, my gratitude to those who hit me- I mean, those who read my fic, those who put this story in their alert and favorites list... ^^ wahehe. n_n

If there's something you noticed that is wrong or something you would like to ask or suggest, feel free to say it through a review (wahehe XD) or through mail. ^^ but I guess through a review would be a lot easier. -rofl-

Oops, I almost forgot to mention… the line marked by a 1, I got that from Movie 12. ^^ I don't own it! Don't sue me. ^o^


	3. The One to Apologize

**Twins**

**Chapter 3: The One to Apologize**

"Oh, what's the matter, Ran-chan? Is someone chasing you?" kidded a man of around 30's after opening the clinic door for the brownish black-haired teenage girl who was panting heavily. He was wearing a white blazer/coat and a pair of sharp eyeglasses which made him look more astonishing, as they harmonize with his blond hair.

The room was aptly cold and a scent of jasmine was noticeably diffused in the air. The atmosphere certainly was relaxing.

"Kazuki-sensei, do you have a medicine for fever?" Ran asked in between her breaths. "Kaitou is sick."

"Kaitou-kun eh? Hm… His brother came here earlier asking for a headache pill," stated the doctor. "I see it got worse. Why not tell him to take a rest in here instead?"

"I already did, sensei." Ran frowned. "But he refused to. He even got angry."

Seeing her eyes starting to moisten the doctor quickly spoke, "Now now, don't be upset Ran-chan. I'm sure, he's just experiencing a bothersome pain or discomfort that makes him irritable. He'll be alright once he got enough rest and medicine."

The doctor sat on his chair, grabbed a pill from his table's drawer and wrote something on what seemed to be a log book. He then handed Ran the paracetamol and said, "Here you go."

"Thanks, Kazuki-sensei." Ran faintly smiled before leaving.

She headed for the canteen afterwards and there she quickly but sensibly chose the things she then purchased.

"Here you go, Ran-chan."

"Thanks, obasan."

"Ran!" a familiar female tone caught her attention after she handed the saleslady her payment.

"Sonoko." She greeted her with a smile.

"What are you up to, running away like that?" Sonoko asked as she went to her side, obviously worried. She has been panicking at the thought of Ran locking herself up in the restroom and crying her wounded heart out.

"I just went down to get what Kaitou needs," the ever-loving Ran replied.

"Hmp! That guy doesn't deserve to be uhm, served!" Sonoko exclaimed, almost running out of appropriate words due to anger. "Just like what Nejiko said, he's a major PMS!"1

Ran chuckled. "Sonoko, he's just sick. We have to understand how he must have been feeling," replied this seemingly peaceful girl. This was also her way of reminding herself of what she should keep in mind so as not to feel hurt.

"Hmp!" Seeing her friend trying not to remember how harsh the grumpy guy has been to her, Sonoko turned to food matters instead. "Hey Ran, let's try these," she said, pointing to an assembly of ready-made soft tacos. "It's already halfway to the end of lunch break but we can eat it while going upstairs." The short-haired girl grinned.

Even without an appetite, Ran complied, knowing that she, herself, also needed some nourishment.

#######

Upon arriving at their classroom, Ran walked straight towards Shinichi, who, by that time, did not seem to move from cupping his chin and staring expressionlessly at nothing in particular.

"Hey," she sounded so gentle, smiling as if nothing happened minutes ago. "Here. You need it more than I do," she said as she slipped a bun on the guy's free hand. After that, she placed a bottle of orange juice and, yet again, a sealed pill on his desk.

Shinichi, however, busy analyzing his observations, was not able to respond in any manner. _'Imitating what I said to her in the rain… Is that on purpose? Hm, smells like bacon.'_ He glanced at the opening of the plastic-wrapped food on his hand. _'Bacon mushroom melt, I thought so. One of Kaitou's favorite.'_ Before he could say something really audible, Ran left and went to her seat, the chair 45 degrees to his right.

After that, the two did not have any contact for the succeeding two hours.

#######

"Yoshi! Early dismissal!" Sonoko stretched her arms after looking at her wrist watch. She then turned to Ran, who was, by that time, staring at what was left on the desk that had the gloomiest aura in the room.

"He didn't eat it," Ran frowned, seeing an untouched sandwich and a half filled bottle. But her face eventually lit up when she said, "At least he took the medicine."

#######

That afternoon, on their way home…

"Ran, you're pretty quiet," Sonoko said, voice decreasing in volume as she spoke.

"Thank you."

"Eh?" Sonoko raised a brow. "I said, you're silent."

"Oh."

"Mouri Ran! You're obviously distracted! What's the matter?" Sonoko's fangs were already showing during her last sentences. "I was talking about the ice cream phone I wanted to buy."

"Ice cream phone?" Ran's face wrinkled with confusion. _'How does that even look like?'_ She managed to think of something, making her chuckle right away.

Sonoko glowered at her. "It's the color which resembles an ice cream!2 But I'm glad it made you laugh." She smiled earnestly.

Ran grinned. "Aw, Sonoko, you sweet cupcake. Don't worry about me- Hey, that's it!"

"Huh? What's it?" It was Sonoko's turn to be confused.

Ran immediately explained what she had in mind. "I was thinking of a way to make it up to him. Now I know; I'll bake him some cupcakes!"

"Ran, you don't have to go through the trouble of making cupcakes for Kaitou." Sonoko had never been so gentle. "Tomorrow, you two are going to be okay." However, her look turned smug. "Besides, he was the one who's mean!"

"But what he said was true. He got sick because of me," Ran opposed. Before her mind could generate something to be worried about, she quickly pulled Sonoko's arm and rushed to a path different from what they were supposed to take.

"Why am I in this again?" Sonoko asked, though without any sign of protest, as she tried not to stumble.

"Because you would be happy to help me, ne?" Ran flashed her sweetest smile capable of persuading even the stingiest entrepreneur to sell his goodies half the price.

Sonoko just sighed, knowing there's nothing she could do.

The two girls went to Beika Shopping District, where Ran regularly buys the ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They entered a shop familiar to both of them.

"Ran-chan! Sonoko-chan!" greeted a lady who was wearing an apron and a hair bandana. "What are you baking today?"

The shop was actually a bakeshop with a small grocery of baking ingredients and necessities inside.

"Uhm, we would like to bake cupcakes Shiya obasan," Ran answered, smiling naturally.

With that said, the lady assisted them in finding the ingredients they would need. In the end, they had a pack of flour, a bar of butter, a block of semi-sweet chocolate, a sachet of baking powder, a pack of paper cupcake cases and a small box of confectionaire's sugar for the frosting.

"Is this all we need?" Sonoko asked when they were in the counter.

"Yup," replied Ran. "We still have a lot of sugar and eggs at home."

After dealing with the man in charge of the cashier, the two were called by the amiable lady. She handed something to them and said, "Try some of these mango muffins, girls. That's something new I came up with."

"Really? Thanks, obasan!" Ran cheerfully said before taking a bite. She had been shopping in this district since she was a child and almost everytime, shop owners give her freebies, discounts or additional grams. They had known her for being so nice and polite; people here really have a soft heart for her.

"Oishii!" chorused the two girls. "Thanks again, obasan!" they bid before leaving the shop.

When they got out, Ran's attention was caught by the fruit stand just across the street. They went there and asked how much the strawberries were.

"Only a hundred yen per 250 grams," was the reply of the muscled vendor. "But for Ran-chan, it's just 90 yen."

"Really? Thanks, oniisan! Yoshi, good thing mom gave me some extra money yesterday," Ran continuously said as she rummaged through her wallet. Sonoko merely smiled seeing how dedicated Ran was to what she was planning. "Oranges too please," Ran added.

On their way home, Ran noticed something again and went there. Sonoko chose to wait outside the store instead, and she made herself busy with buying some takoyaki for the two of them.

When Ran returned, she was holding a small red thing which seemed to be "An umbrella?"

Ran nodded in response to Sonoko's question. She smiled and said, "This will always be in my bag so I won't get stuck in the rain again. I will name him Kai-chan, short for Akai." She grinned childishly.

(note: Akai = red)

Sonoko snickered. "You name it after that PMS guy? Jeez Ran, what has gotten into you?"

"Why, the name Kai-chan is cute." Ran chuckled.

As soon as they arrived at the Mouri Detective Agency, Ran, as well as Sonoko, greeted her father who was, by that time enjoying a can of beer and Okino Yoko's tv show at the office. Of course, she scolded him for being drunk and messy, but it was nothing out of the usual. The two then went upstairs and prepared the materials they would use.

After about an hour of measuring, mixing and preparation, the cupcakes were ready for the convection oven. While baking them up, Ran prepared the dinner, telling Sonoko to stay and eat with them for the night.

Sonoko agreed, but while Ran was cutting the potatoes for the chicken curry, she sneaked out of the room to make a phone call.

#######

Meanwhile, in the Kudo household that evening, Kaitou has just arrived from his scheduled band practice.

"Huh, no one's home yet?" he muttered to himself as he entered the gate after seeing the lights all off. Reaching the doorstep, he was surprised that the door was not locked. Before actually opening the door, he tried calling his twin to ask where he was at the moment but to no avail, Shinichi was not answering.

Alarmed by the situation, he took something similar to a gun from his bag. It was his card gun, the one he asked Professor Agasa to create for him for his fourteenth birthday. Upon entering as quietly as a cat, he looked around carefully, holding the gun in an equipped position.

'_That's strange. Nothing seems different,'_ he thought.

All of a sudden, there came an attack which he was not ready for – his cell phone rang.

"Mou, that almost gave me a heart attack," he chuckled to himself. He brought out his white 124658 Pantech Music phone and flipped it open as he opened the lights in the living room, still holding his gun and eyes still alert and roaming around.

"Kudo Kaitou! You're such a pain in the neck!" was the reply of the caller to Kaitou's nice hello.

"Oh, Sonoko! What made you call? …and angry?" still, he had a cheerful voice which made the caller even furious.

"Baka, asking as if you don't know the reason I'm mad. Because of you, Ran went to all the trouble of doing something she doesn't need to do."

Upon hearing those words, Kaitou sensed a problem so he stayed quiet and listened, knowing Sonoko would continue.

"…and I got involved with that, hmp! Be thankful that I'm not a karate expert like Ran otherwise, I would have knocked you down with just one blow before you got home."

Her statement gave him a hint regarding where his twin was. "Now, now, Sonoko," Kaitou spoke apologetically, "whatever I did, I'm sure I have a reason for that- I mean, I didn't mean whatever I did, I'm so sorry." He grinned sheepishly, as if he could show this to the one he was talking to.

But on the contrary, his sweet voice was enough to lessen Sonoko's fury. It was evident in her last sentence, "Well, tomorrow, you'd better be nice."

When the caller hung up, only one thing came to his mind. "Shinichi!" He ran up the stairs to his brother's room, ready to scold him. Arriving there, he saw his twin peacefully sleeping and enjoying the coziness of his bed, pillows and blanket. He noticed that Shinichi didn't bother to change from his uniform before he slept. "Must be really tired… or sick."

After picking up something shining from the floor, he sat on the bed and checked his brother's temperature with a hand. "Just a light fever now." He inspected the empty pack of pill he got and judging from the product's brand name, he concluded, "Ran must have gotten this from the clinic for him."

"You're so noisy," Shinichi whined, turning his back on Kaitou.

The latter, however, seized the chance of asking him, "Hey, pineapple-head! Sonoko was nagging at me. What did you do to Ran?"

"Sleep… nest-head…"

"Tsk. Nevermind." Kaitou decided to just let him rest and prepare dinner instead. He turned off the light and went out of Shinichi's room.

#######

The following day was rather panicky compared to the previous calm night. The Kudo twins were scampering against time to get to school for they had overslept because of certain reasons. Shinichi, still tainted by a cold, had his medicine driving him crazy for sleep that he spent the whole after-dinner time sleeping. On the other hand, Kaitou, without having any homework to do and still besieged with happiness due to the sumptuous day he had because of Aoko, got himself too engrossed in his PSP that he played till he dropped to slumber at about 3am.

Even so, the twins still had the time for a little conversation on their way.

"Ne, Kaitou, have you seen my mask?" Shinichi asked in the midst of their hurry. He still had a mild cold so they were still in each other's places. "I left it last night on my bedside table, but this morning it was not on its place."

"Huh? Your mask? Nope, haven't seen that." Kaitou chuckled like a naughty little prankster.

Seeing this, Shinichi made a just-as-I-thought lazy face.

"Oh!" Kaitou had a sudden change of mood. "Last night, Sonoko scolded me. You baka, what did you do?"

"You already nagged at me about that last night during dinner, don't you remember?" was Shinichi's reply.

"Well, you looked out of yourself last night, like your mind is in outerspace, so I'm just making sure this gets to you." Kaitou was a bit more serious, but he still looked comical when he said, "Those two are my closest friends, treat them nicely!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry," Shinichi said, not looking as interested as he was supposed to be. "It's just that yesterday my head was killing me and those two were getting on my nerves." Shinichi added on his mind, 'And I hardly knew them, by the way.'

"You'll get to know them in no time and you'll see that those two are nice, especially Ran." Kaitou smiled.

"That Ran is the long-haired one, right?"

"Yeah. Cute isn't she?" Kaito smirked. He was trying to check if his friend Ran had any chance on his brother.

"You like her, don't you?" Shinichi teased, remembering the hairband girl say something like, 'You're just jealous, aren't you?'

"Baka, I'm just asking your opinion." Kaitou scowled, giving Shinichi a hint that there was something more to discover about his brother and this girl named Ran.

"You look pissed off." The detective laughed. "How come you never told me about your girl friends before?"

"I haven't? Oh, my bad." Kaitou chuckled sheepishly.

"Jeez, you have a twin, you know." Shinichi remarked, but he did not seem upset.

Kaitou just made a peace sign in return, plus a priceless grin that could excuse even the naughtiest boy from whatever he did.

#######

As he entered the classroom of 3-B, Shinichi quietly took the path to his seat. The teacher was already writing the lecture concepts on the board so everyone was busy copying.

"Looks like Kaitou-kun's feeling better now," He heard a girl whisper to her seatmate.

While walking at the back, his eyes searched the room for the familiar long brown locks. 'There she is.'

He waited the whole morning for a chance to talk to this girl. Unfortunately, they had a lot of things to do in those four morning subjects that even the 10-minute breaks in between were not enough to give them a chance to converse.

Lunch break came, and so did a girl towards Shinichi's seat while he was packing up his books. Upon meeting her gaze, he smiled and greeted, "Ran."

The girl, however, was not looking as pleased as he was. Shinichi noticed that she has been like this since morning – troubled. Her eyes were trembling as they focused on her hands. He waited for her to speak, but instead, Ran handed over a paper bag.

It took her a while to assemble her thoughts before transmitting them to him.

"K-kaitou." Her soft voice broke the silence between the two of them.

Shinichi stood up, intending to get a good hear by maximizing his height. His movement startled her a bit, but when Shinichi asked, "What is it Ran?" with what seemed to be an affectionate voice, she had the courage to speak up.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Kaitou," she finally said, eyes locked on the floor. "As well as the other day… It was really my fault that you got sick. You know, I have a little umbrella now and he will be staying in my bag. I even named him Kai-chan because he's red." She chuckled slightly but she still sounded sad.

While listening to her and watching her speak, Shinichi was trapped in a dungeon of no words. He felt as if something were eating him up slowly, making him unable to move or speak.

Before Ran could utter her next word, tear drops started to fall from her eyes. Yet her voice remained normal, trying to conceal how her eyes have been welling up.

"Last night, I dreamt of you…. You were running away, and no matter how loud I call your name, you were not looking back. I'm scared of that happening…" Her voice trembled as her tears streamed down more freely. "I don't want to lose you as my friend, Kaitou…"

Far from how he looked outside, Shinichi was actually panicking inside. He did not know what to do; It was the first time he made a girl cry. Everything he learned since he was brought to this world was betraying him, not offering him anything useful at that point in time. During the milliseconds that this great detective's brain was searching for an idea, only one thing was constant in his mind, 'I don't want to see her cry.'

To everybody's surprise, Shinichi pulled Ran closer to him into a deep time-stopping embrace. His grip was gentle but the motionless Ran certainly felt how his arms seemed to protect and comfort her.

"Baka, I'm supposed to be the one to apologize," his meltsome soft voice said to her left ear.

Things happened so fast for Ran but time seemed to slow down as she was processing everything that was happening. She then felt his hold tighten a bit upon saying, "I'm sorry Ran…"

Shinichi's eyes stayed soft as he stared straight ahead while his mind was occupied by his sincerity.

The two remained absorbed in their thoughts until a light flashed from their side, causing them to instinctively break up from their contact.

"Sonoko!" Ran regained the consciousness she seemed to lose a while ago. She went to the person holding up a pink Panasonic Tropical phone and confiscated the said device.

Shinichi found himself smiling as he watched Ran trying to stop the people who are spreading the photo through Bluetooth. Upon resting his hand on his desk, he sensed something which he nearly forgot.

"Ran!" he called. "What's this?" He showed her the paper bag.

The girl immediately went to his side to show him what she prepared.

"Jajan!" Ran cheerfully opened the bento box from the paper bag. Eight pieces of cute little chocolate cupcakes and strawberries on the sides were unveiled. In addition to that, the cupcakes had something written on top. Each one had a hiragana character made from pink strawberry frosting, making up the words 'gomen' and 'odaiji ni', which means "sorry" and "get well soon".

Shinichi couldn't help but smile seeing how creatively this was made. The bright face of the person who made the cupcakes made him smile even wider.

"Thanks," he said, looking at her in the eyes. "If you treat me like this, I would always want to get sick." He chuckled upon noticing that he was capable of saying lines more suited for his twin brother.

"Baka, next time you get sick I'll flagellate you, so you better take care of yourself," Ran jokingly threatened before getting something more from the paper bag. "Drink this. You lack vitamin C, young man."

Shinichi took the bottle of freshly extracted pulpy orange juice from Ran's hand and chuckled saying, "Yes, ma'am!"

#######

End

#######

Happy birthday Shinichi! ^o^ (on May 4 =P)

**Notes:**

1. PMS means pre-menstrual syndrome. It is a condition or 'sickness' (XD) common to females characterized by being irritable and ill-tempered. (Also by being physically sensitive or being easily bruised) It occurs on the days before a girl experiences her monthly period.

2. There really is an ice cream phone. XD It's from LG company.

3. Some Translations: ^-^

Obasan = auntie, which is different from obaasan = grandma. These are used to address older ladies politely.

Mou – an expression equivalent to whining

Baka = stupid

Sensei – used to address someone professional like a teacher or a doctor

Imouto-chan = younger sister

Ne – used to reassure just like "right?" or to call attention in a gentle way like "hey"

#=#=#=#

_I dedicate this chapter to my high school friend Lianne. During our third year, we had a small fight (it was the first time, I think) and to make it up to me, she gave me, on the following day, a box of chocolate chip cookies with cherries on the sides and a bottle of mango shake. She also gave me a letter containing the sweet words Ran said, "I don't want to lose you as my friend." I miss you, imouto-chan! (we were twins back then and I was the older one :P)_

_Wahehe! XD_

#=#

Next Conan's Hint! XD

Piano.

Next chapter, we will know more about a certain character.

Till next time, folks! ^^

Thanks, you who are reading this! (winks the way Kaitou does)

Double thanks if you would be clicking the review button below. XD


	4. One More Day

**AN: **I decided to cut the supposed 4th chapter into two. ^_^ because if I won't, it would be oh so long. XD

Thanks, windtamer01 (now I got your name right XD) for being my impromptu beta reader! ^^ haha! n.n

Hey, it's May 12 already! It's my older brother's (who are also twins) birthday, Yoh and Hao Asakura. ^o^ Hahahahaha! (see, I laugh just like Hao XD) Otanjoubi! ^^

Hope you enjoy this chapter, everyone! ^^ thanks for reading! and waiting! ^^ don't forget to leave a review! XD *grins*

**Chapter 4: One More Day**

"Please…"

"I'm not sick anymore."

"Yeah, but please? One more day…"

The Kudo twins were having their breakfast on the dining table of their westernized big house. Although they were almost done, they took pleasure in munching and digesting their food at a snail's pace, not hurrying as a reward for themselves for waking up 30 minutes earlier than their supposed wake-up time. They were already in their blue uniform and proper roles but one was whining and asking for an irrational favor.

"Shinichi~" Kaitou exerted the most convincing sweet tone he could give. With palms put together and a blue comb in between them, he pleaded once again, "Please… let me be with Aoko for just one more day…"

"I can't," Shinichi replied blankly while flipping the page of the newspaper he was reading. Without turning his eyes away from the article that had caught them, he reached for his cup of coffee and took a sip.

"Mou~" Kaitou pouted as he turned back to finishing his Kaitou-special sandwich. He was indeed in the mood to play the role of the younger brother when in fact, their ages were just a minute and seven seconds away from each other. "Why can't we switch today?" he asked, face resembling that of a worried child.

"Because there's no reason for it," was the immediate reply of his impassive twin.

Kaitou continued sulking and began lecturing to the sandwich in his hand, "My brother is cruel… Don't ever talk to him again." But knowing that there was no reason as well for them not to switch roles, he kept on trying. "Even if I will owe you a big favor, you won't agree?" he said to Shinichi with a pinch of bribery in his tone, his heart slightly pounding in excitement.

Shinichi smirked in response. "You're really into that girl that much, eh?" He decided to finish his sandwich either before it started calling him a cruel brother or before he ran out of time to ask Kaitou the things he was curious about.

"Hey, wait a second." The younger one popped enthusiastic all of a sudden. "You owe me a favor!" he proudly said. "When I played the piano for you, you said you owe me one."

Shinichi shook his head, the confidence seen on his face made him look more pitiless. "We agreed that I only have to do well in your classes in exchange for your piano performance. Well, I stayed there the whole day, literally, even if I was sick, and I did pretty well in all of your works. Plus, you were with Aoko the whole day in those two days!"

Kaitou frowned at his defeat. Still hopeful, however, he spoke softly, "Well, then let's make a new deal. Ask whatever you want."

Shinichi laughed to his brother's surprise.

"What?" Kaitou got a bit irritated.

"You're desperate, man," Shinichi replied still chuckling.

"So what..." Kaitou mumbled, pouting and crossing his arms in the process.

"Alright then, we'll switch," banana-hair decided, stifling his chuckle. He thought that the big favor would come handy some time.

"You mean it?" Kaitou stuffed his nose closer to his identical twin, who, by that time, gave a slight nod. "Alright!" And in less than a minute, he was already in the bathroom with his comb, childlike today, indeed.

Shinichi stood up, put his hands in his pockets and followed his brother's path, smiling at how the latter was acting.

With a little comb in here and a little spray of hair foam there, they were ready to face anybody as each other again.

As they left their house, Shinichi remembered something.

"Hey, give me your phone."

Kaitou, now with the attitude of a serious grown up, obeyed without any question, but before he completely handed his white phone to his brother, he was reminded about something he wanted to ask. He swiftly flipped his phone open and showed a photo to his twin along with his grim face. "You, dupe… What's this?"

Shinichi was first surprised because of his brother's expression, but then, he ended up chuckling when he recognized the photo of him securing Ran in the warmth of his embrace. "Oh. That was something I did for you."

"Baka. What are you saying?" Kaitou asked as he switched phones with Shinichi. It was not hard for him understand that his brother wanted them to switch phones as a part of their disguise.

"Ran's your girlfriend right? I just made things better for you," Shinichi teased.

Kaitou instantly gave his twin a head-whack while flushing red. It may be out of embarrassment or fury – he, himself, didn't know. "She's not my girlfriend," he stated after regaining his posture.

"Close to a girlfriend, I meant!" retorted Shinichi while moaning about his painful head.

"Not even that," his brother promptly replied. "She's my best friend. B-E-S-T F-R-I-E-N-D!" Kaitou pointed out.

"Oh, did your source tell you about the other thing I did?" Shinichi smirked.

"What other thing?" Kaitou was alert.

"I kissed her for you." Shinichi laughed maniacally, making his brother's eyes enlarge the size of a golf ball.

"Wwwhat?!?" the younger one shrieked.

"Just kidding!" Shinichi quickly stated, grinning with his fingers in a peace sign.

"Tsk," was Kaitou's reply as he calmed down.

They suddenly stayed silent for a while; it was as if an angel passed by the two of them. There weren't any hard feelings, though. This was one of the best characteristics they have – no matter how far their teasing reaches, no one gets seriously angry at someone. They are cool inside and out.

"Ne, Kaitou…" Shinichi broke the short-lived silence after completing the interview questionnaire in his mind. His tone was serious and at the same time, curious, when he asked, "Could you tell me more about this Ran? Where did you meet her, how, and how long have you been friends? Basics."

Unbeknownst to Shinichi, his brother saw his tiny movements such as the unusual fiddling with his fingers and his irregular breathing pattern that broke into activation.

Kaitou smiled mischievously, having thought that finally, his brother had interest in the girl whose eyes had been only for him for years. "Well," he started, "We have been friends since junior high. We were always in the same class, even in high school. She's like a childhood friend to me– no, more like a sister, I think." While narrating, Kaitou wore a gentle smile on his face, gazing at the beautiful morning sky as he did so.

Shinichi noticed that, making him smile as well. He began to be more interested, expecting to know more about his twin's past and this yet mysterious friend of his.

Kaitou chuckled all of a sudden. "Do you know how I met her? It was a funny story. That time, it was raining hard. Classes were suspended so I was on my way home when I saw a girl actually slip and fall seated into a puddle. Caught in the act!" His chuckle turned into laughter. "She doesn't want to remember that anymore, but anyway, that time, she saw me laughing at her. Actually, there was something bothering me before that happened – which I can't remember what – so the sight really gave me a good laugh. I approached her and shared my umbrella with her as she got up with a face as red as her jacket. She was really angry and that made me laugh even more. You know, she sometimes gets clumsy and when those certain times occur, she REALLY is clumsy."

Shinichi found himself smiling after visualizing his brother's story. He couldn't imagine quite well how the girl who was in tears the previous day would look like when she's angry.

_--Flashback--_

"_Why are you following me?" the girl in a blue skirt and blue-collared white sailor uniform asked after a few minutes of regaining her stand and walking again._

_The young Kaitou in a dark teal uniform replied, a smirk still on his face, "I happen to live somewhere here, too."_

_The two were walking side by side, but quite a distance exists between them. They both have an umbrella except that one used it more for covering her face._

"_And I think, you need someone to guide you or at least accompany you in case you trip off once more." The young man chuckled._

_The girl eyed him irately. "Mean…"_

"_We belong to the same class right? Mouri-san?" Kaitou was confident. He slung his bag on his hand holding the umbrella so he could offer a hand shake. "I'm Kaitou. Kudo Kaitou."_

_The girl carefully looked at him before responding, trying to see his intentions through his face._

_Knowing that he was being evaluated, Kaitou grinned, as if telling her not to worry._

"_Mouri Ran," the girl finally replied. She, however, refused to accept his hand and just turned away from him._

_With that, the lad chuckled again, saying, "You're cute."_

_---end flashback---_

"So you like her, huh?" Shinichi suddenly asked, his intention undefined in the way he said it.

"Baka." Kaitou laughed. "You know me. I tell them they're cute when they're cute."

Shinichi chuckled, realizing his brother's point.

"But to tell you honestly, I used to like her."

"Used to?" Shinichi repeated.

"Actually, when I saw her in the rain, I felt like I had to protect her or save her or something like that…" Kaitou was slightly stuttering.

Shinichi's mind wandered, 'Funny. That was also what I thought when I saw her in the rain.'

"So that was it, we became friends. I met her best friend, a kindhearted loud-mouth spoiled brat, Suzuki Sonoko." Kaitou giggled, realizing how angry Sonoko would have been if she heard him say that.

Shinichi intervened, "Now that you've mention it, those two really are noisy." He laughed as he placed his arms behind his head.

"But they are actually fun to be with," Kaitou added, chuckling. He then turned back to his story-telling semi-serious tone. "Weeks after I met Ran, I found myself sort of falling for her." Kaitou looked to his left, away from his twin, pretending to be caught by something on the way, just to hide his faint blush.

Shinichi's smile turned into a smirk. He knew what his brother was trying to hide.

Kaitou, on the other hand, rubbed his cheek, acting as if his face were just irritated from the dust in the air. He then continued, "Then she met you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, Kudo Shinichi," Kaitou affirmed, his tone serious. "In fact, she didn't remember your surname, so she used to call you Shinichi the detective." He chuckled. "She said she was in a café with her mom in Shibuya when someone was suddenly found murdered. You happened to be there as a customer, she said, and then as soon as you heard a woman scream, you rushed to the comfort room where the cry came from and started investigating upon realizing that a middle-aged lady was killed."

"Hey, I remember that," Shinichi said, getting excited upon hearing about a case. "I was with Professor Agasa that time. We were supposed to meet a person he knew who was asking for detective help. He recommended me even though I was just an amateur back then."

Kaitou nodded. "So there, as expected from you, before the police arrived, you already have a lead. Of course, Ran and her mom were made to stay there because they were in the crime scene when the case occurred. Being a lawyer and a very smart one at that, her mom also helped finding some clues, so Ran had the chance to watch you solve the case up close."

"Oh," Shinichi tried to remember the lawyer his brother was talking about. "I can remember her, but not much on how she looked like."

"You mean Ran?"

"No, her mom." Shinichi laughed. "Okay, go on with your story."

"That's basically it. You solved the case magnificently, and Ran was amazed. You also had a soccer ball with you that time, plus the fact that you're as handsome as me, so Ran had no other choice but to have a crush on you." Kaitou shrugged.

Shinichi laughed, "Jealous?"

"Baka," Kaitou replied with a small curve at the edge of his mouth.

"So, you told her I'm your brother?"

"Well…" Kaitou bit his smiling lips. "I kinda delayed telling her." He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed his head. "You can't blame me; I liked her and you were an opponent!" he defended.

Shinichi just laughed, looking more interested than he used to be. "So, what happened then?"

"Hm, I planned to tell her how I feel, but during the days of my hesitation, she got to know you more, even if you go to a different school." Kaitou explained, his tone getting more and more sluggish. "Since her house and our house are on the same direction with reference to both our schools, she often saw you on the way. Knowing more about you made her like you even more. When Sonoko found out that Ran had a crush on someone, she got excited and helped Ran find more about you. She even hired a detective to investigate."

"Whoah," Shinichi's eyes widened. "All for a crush?"

Kaitou nodded, "A rich girl could do whatever she wants with just a whimper on her dad. Haha!"

"And then? How did things with you and Ran go?" was Shinichi's follow up.

"I told her… about you," Kaitou said softly while staring at the ground.

Trying to be sensitive, Shinichi stayed quiet and just waited for his brother to continue.

"When she found out that we are twins, she laughed, saying she didn't notice how similar we look." Kaitou smiled and turned to the road straight ahead.

_---Flashback---_

_Two teenagers were standing beneath a cherry blossom tree, enjoying a conversation as they gaze at the falling flowers._

_The girl giggled and said, "So that's why he looked familiar! Why didn't I think of that?"_

_The lad smiled and replied, "Sonoko's investigation also found out that the guy's family name is Kudo, right?"_

_The girl nodded enthusiastically. "Actually, I was planning to ask you about that – if you knew some Shinichi in your clan."_

_The boy sighed. "Aren't you angry with me for lying to you?" he warily asked as he looked at the fallen blossoms on the grassy surface they were standing on._

"_No, silly." The girl just smiled and laughed. "You did not lie to me. You even told me about it before I found out myself. Was that a lie?"_

_The boy smiled as he regained the confidence to face her._

_---end flashback---_

"She really knew how to make me smile. It always seems so effortless for her to do so, anyway," Kaitou stated, smiling to himself.

Shinichi suddenly remembered the fact that Ran baked for him just so he won't be that grumpy again.

As if able to read his twin's mind, Kaitou instantly said, "And you, mister, who made her bake cupcakes had been acting so NOT LIKE ME!" He had an arm on his waist and a pointy finger on his brother, just like the way their cute mom would scold them.

Shinichi simply grinned in response.

The younger one turned back to the serious story-teller mode as he looked down. "That day, I gave up on her… and decided to support her feelings for you instead."

Shinichi's facial expression turned confused.

"She loved me like her brother – a sibling she never had – and that was just that." He slightly shrugged while smiling. "Had I said something about the way I felt, things might have been different, and… bad. So I just vowed to protect Ran and care for her as my little sister as best as I can."

Shinichi tried his best to come up with encouraging or comforting words but he, himself, got caught up in his own thoughts about the situation his brother had. 'He should have at least told her how he feels… the truth… so there won't be any regrets, if ever she-- but… I guess sometimes, you really have to hide the truth… if there's something you care more about… some things are better left unsaid… or at least, unsaid until the right time…' Randomly, he found himself imagining a life-and-death situation – a dangerous case he got involved into. A situation that requires him to hide his identity for the safety of the people around him. Such a circumstance is possible for a detective like him. To tell them and not let them worry or to hide from them just to keep them safe – it was a tough decision to make. He shook his head and quickly shoved off the unnecessary idea and turned to check his brother, who was, by that time, had no evidence of sadness on his now beaming face.

"Now, it's just normal to me. We really are like brothers and sisters." Kaitou was still grinning, not able to notice his twin's previous preoccupancy. "When I met Aoko last year, it was like falling all over again." He giggled. "I was struck when she passed by me without even noticing ME, unlike all the other girls do. She's not like the usual – she doesn't care about popularity and stuff, and that made me like her more." He laughed and turned to face Shinichi.

"So you better help me with her, bro. It's not like I'm going to fall the third time, you know."

Shinichi smiled. "Sure, anything for my twin."


	5. The Junior High Acquaintance Murder Case

**Chapter 5: The Junior High Acquaintance Murder Case**

"Hoaaaahh…"

Kudo Shinichi yawned lazily right after his English teacher left their class room. The essay he wrote as a part of the pop quiz about the application of sentence construction made his neck stiff and aching. As he massaged the back of his neck with his dominant hand, he stretched his left arm forward and bent it close to his face for him to be able to see his wrist watch hidden in his two layers of sleeves.

"9:30. Good," he mumbled to himself while getting a note-book sized, fairly thick novel from his bag. '_The 10-minute break in between subjects and that Sanada-sensei who's always late will give me enough time to finish this mystery,_' he thought, smiling.

Unfortunately, before he could open the page that the bookmark was showing, a brownish-black-haired girl grabbed the book he was holding and said, "Ara! Since when did Kaitou get to like mystery novels?"

The disrupted lad gave her an irritated look, but she just smiled at him in response.

"Sonoko and I will go to her dad's art exhibit tonight. Wanna come with us?" said the girl in high spirits.

"I pass," was Shinichi's dull reply as he reached for the book that the giggling Ran was still driving away from him.

"You like art exhibits don't you?" A short-haired brunette entered and slammed a piece of paper on the guy's desk. "Plus, it's Suzuki Corporation's Annual Art Exhibit. My dad would be happy to see you there. He said you have an interest in art as much as he does when he saw you last time in the museum."

Shinichi scanned the flier Sonoko curtly gave him and grimly smiled at it. _'My brother is not that much into art. It's the museum's jewels and gems that he adores.'_

"Do you have something to do today?" Ran asked, her tone concerned. "Band practice?"

'_Come to think of it, I don't know that guy's band schedule…' _Shinichi thought before answering. "Well, I don't know yet. I'll just call you guys later if I can come." He gave them a quick smile.

The two girls pulled a chair close to Shinichi's desk and sat there in front of him, as if there would be a conference among them three. "So, how has your band been doing?" Ran started.

"When's your next live performance gonna be?" Sonoko followed.

Surprised with the sudden movements and questions, Shinichi tried his best to show a calm façade in spite of the sweat-dropping expression he had. "Uhm, we're fine," was the quick answer he came up with. He recalled the day when his brother told him something about his band. "I guess this month, we'll be performing. Er, somewhere… sometime… somehow?" He laughed nervously, then immediately turned the conversation around with the curiosity he previously had. "So, Ran, how are you and Shinichi doing?"

"Eh?" Ran's eyes widened upon realizing what her friend was asking.

Before she could say her next word, Shinichi elaborated his question. "I mean, you like my brother right? How is this 'like' like? Like, 'like' like?" He, himself, thought his question was weirdly formed, so he rephrased it as he breathed calmly. "Is it something serious? Or just a plain admiration?"

With the things the lad said, Sonoko smiled evilly and Ran flushed. The latter's eyes roamed around the room as she stuttered. "Well… You see… Do I really have to answer that?" She forced a laugh with a hand behind her head.

While Shinichi was thinking of a better question to ask just so he won't be in the hot seat and be forced to create lies, Sonoko suddenly spoke, "Hey look! There's Shinichi!"

The other two turned to the direction she was pointing. Ran was startled – she quickly straightened her long hair and uniform and tried to control the redness of her cheeks, which, by that time, was outrageous – while Shinichi was expressionless, thinking of possible reasons why his brother would be there at that time. To their disappointment, it was just a joke pulled by the snickering Sonoko. "Ran, you look terrible when you're panicking like that," she remarked.

"Sonoko~" Ran whined. "You're so mean!"

"If Shinichi were really here, he might have laughed at you," Sonoko added.

'_Actually, I'm here,'_ Shinichi said in mind with a half-hearted smile.

#######

Meanwhile, in the classroom of 3-A,

"Aoko-chan! Let's be partners in the history assignment!" Kaitou enthusiastically invited as he scampered to a seat in the middle of the classroom next to a black-haired girl, his right hand waving like that of a child excitedly welcoming his father from abroad.

Having done this, the attention of their classmates around was caught and they started watching the two in amusement.

"Kudo-kun, the teacher said we should pair up with a close friend so there won't be any schedule or meeting problems," the black-haired girl replied in the nicest possible tone she could use. But with the way she said it, one can tell that this usually quiet girl has had enough of this guy who had been suddenly and unreasonably friendly to her these days.

The boys who happen to be friends with Shinichi teased Kaitou and made some noise. "Yo, Kudo! I think I smell a challenge over there."

He just glanced at the person who spoke with his confident smile and then looked back to Aoko, who then continued, "Kudo-kun, I'm sorry but I think we're not that close."

Not affected by the slight rejection, Kaitou lifted his chair and his desk a few inches to the right. He flashed his gorgeous smirk and said, "This way, I think we would be."

With the louder whistling and cheering that the guys made and the way Kaitou has been acting, Aoko unintentionally let go of a small smile as she rolled her eyes to her right. To Kaitou, however, this signified a clear coast to victory. He took the chance to slip a hand beneath the girl's curtaining hair, and this frightened the latter at first. When they were faced eye-to-eye, he retrieved his hand and showed her was it was holding then – a red thorn-less short-stemmed rose.

"A cute girl like you should smile more often," Kaitou said softly as he inserted the rose in Aoko's right hand that was resting on her desk. He grinned at her, while she stared at him, still astounded.

Before his humble grin could turn into a smirk fueled by his pride for successfully showing off one of his tricks to the girl of his eyes, he was interrupted by Shinichi's cell phone ringing. He took it out, his expression changing from amused into curious in the process. Upon noticing that it was a call from inspector Megure, he excused himself from the others and stood up to go outside. "Be right back, partner!" he bid, waving to Aoko, smiling tenderly as he did so.

"Megure-kebu!" he greeted with enthusiasm. "What's up?"

"Kudo-kun." The person on the other end of the line sounded troubled. "You see, there has been a murder case here in a house on Junioume (a street) and one of the suspects insists that I call you, saying he's 100% innocent and he knows you can prove it for him. He said you know him well. His name is Sakamino Kyosuke." Inspector Megure paused for a while, he seemed to be talking to someone. Judging from the words he said to the person and the way he said them, Kaitou realized that Megure might have been stressed in handling someone really insistent. "This brat is really noisy," remarked the inspector upon returning to the phone.

Kaitou chuckled shortly before answering, "I know him, inspector. I'll head there and help as soon as my classes end. Ja ne!"

After the other party hanged up, Megure's forehead creased. He noticed Kaitou's cheerful tone despite the fact that the lad just heard that a murder occurred, so he mumbled in confusion, "Was that really Shinichi-kun?"

#######

"Kaitou-kun, when will you ever tell that girl from 3-A that you like her?" Sonoko asked demandingly.

It was followed by Ran's fist pounding the desk as she said, "A man has got to be a man! What are you doing with your magic tricks? Your playful pick up lines? What's the use of those things if you're not going to use them?"

"That's right!" Sonoko agreed. "Anyone would fall for those sweety puffs of yours! …Except for me, of course."

With every sentence that the two were throwing to him, Shinichi inched back until he couldn't find any space in his seat. _'How did I get in this situation?_' As he looked at the two who were burning with womanly courage and still asking him a lot, his left eyebrow raised. '_It was I who was supposed to ask them, not the other way around!' _He suddenly realized something, making him forget the whole situation. _'Why didn't I ask him that?'_ He smirked to himself. _'Kaitou, you secretive moron… I'll make sure these two's questions will be answered. The answer to all our curiosities…'_ Before he could laugh maniacally in his imagination, Kaitou's phone vibrated robustly in his pocket.

'_A call? Alright! An escape route!' _He quickly brought out his blinking-with-blue-light and shaking phone and showed it smugly to the two, stopping their assault riffle mouths as he did so. "I've got a call. Have to answer it now." He flashed them a naughty smile before going to a quieter corner of the room. The two girls had no other choice but to whine as their target escaped in front of their eyes without answering any of their questions.

"Hey Shin," the caller greeted.

Shinichi, who did not bother checking who was calling before he answered it, quickly recognized the familiar voice – a voice identical to his own. "What?" was his lazy reply.

"A murder. A house in Junioume. Sakamino Kyosuke."

Shinichi's eyes widened in anxiety. "Kyosuke?"

"No, no," the caller chuckled. "He's a suspect, but he claims to be innocent. He wants you to help out prove it. Megure-kebu called; he couldn't stand that guy's pushiness to call you."

While Shinichi was analyzing the details seriously, contrary to how his twin was acting, he heard the sliding door shut close.

"Hey, my teacher's here," Kaitou informed.

"Yeah, mine, too." He remained lost in his thoughts as he closed his phone and went back to his seat. _'Junioume… Kyosuke lives there. Could it be that the victim is his relative? Crap, I've got to get there.'_

He looked at his watch and then to the front. _'If only I learned about this a bit earlier, I could have escaped before the teacher arrived…' _ Far from the issue, he noticed Ran glancing at him from her seat with a worried expression. It was not too hard for her to notice his sudden change of mood after receiving the call.

She moved her lips to ask him without making any noise, "Everything alright?"

As fast as receiving an email, an idea came to the young detective's mind. _'If one could speak to someone quietly, one could also go somewhere quietly.'_ He smiled at her and nodded, assuring there was nothing to worry about.

She smiled, too, before turning back to the chalkboard to copy what was being written there.

Shinichi seized the chance while everybody, including the teacher, was busy with the lecture notes. He quietly descended from his seat and crawled to the door at the back. Those who noticed him stifled a laugh, but he gestured a "hush" with his finger before they could make some noise. Before his teacher turned around to face the class, he was long gone, along with his belongings.

#######

While running at the hallway, Shinichi was pressing the buttons of his brother's phone with increasing annoyance. He was trying to send his twin a mail, telling him his plan to ditch his classes so he could check the case right away, but Kaitou's phone was giving him quite a hard time with the key functions that are different from that of his own cell phone. "Holy cow…" he muttered, smudging his face with his free hand.

After successfully sending the mail, he also succeeded in evading possible stoppers on the way like teachers, the grumpy vice principal and the ever-carefree principal. Soon he was out of the school grounds and was already heading north to Junioume Street.

#######

'_That mystery addict…'_ Kaitou smirked after reading a mail from the phone hidden under his desk. _'Using the big favor I owe him to meddle with the police's job. He's really as impulsive as mom.'_

#######

"The deceased is Sakamino Shizuka, 44 years old, a housewife," Inspector Megure explained generously to the person who just arrived. He and that person were walking up the stairs of the house, towards the room of the crime scene. "She was stabbed at the heart with a knife that is missing up to now. The culprit might have taken it, as well as the money from the victim's drawer. Right now, we are considering three possibilities – suicide, robbery and murder. If murder were the case, we have two suspects at the moment, the husband, Sakamino Shuichiro, and the nephew who was living with the couple, the one to first see the corpse and reported it to the police, Saka-"

The inspector's sentence was cut when a lad suddenly welcomed them upon their first step on the floor of the messy bedroom. "Kudo!" the lad greeted with enthusiasm as he quickly rose from his chair and stuck his nose close to the tall young man beside the inspector. He had his fists clenched in front of his chest and a half-worried, half-determined expression plastered on his face. He waited for the other person to respond, but with what he was showing, the other person already perceived the next thing this lad would say.

"Yo, Sakamichi!" replied the young detective with a palm raised and a grin shown to lighten up his friend's mood.

The shorter one scowled and said, "You're always altering my name."

Shinichi chuckled before changing the topic. "What's with that face?" he asked though he already knew what his friend would say.

"I didn't kill Auntie!" blurted the one named Kyosuke, along with his childish look. "I bet it was suicide. Auntie has been acting really weird lately." He cupped his chin as he spoke.

"Weird?" Shinichi repeated.

"These past few days, she hadn't been eating much. She said she didn't have an appetite," explained the reddish-brown spiky haired teenager. "After cooking our meal, she stays in her room and leaves me and Uncle to do the dishes. Then sometimes at night I see her rummaging in the kitchen. It's as if she just doesn't want to eat with us! This morning when I arrived here, she was also inside her room and I think she has been there after breakfast. There's nothing much to clean in the house anyway-"

"Wait, you arrived this morning?" The young Sherlock glanced at the clothes his friend was wearing. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Inspector Megure decided to enter in the conversation, grimly smiling as he spoke, "He ditched school, just like what you did." With that, the two lads laughed nervously and scratched the back of their heads. "Tsk, kids these days," remarked the inspector.

After a short while, Kyosuke continued, "Anyway, I noticed that the sweater I left in the living room table was still there, so I'm sure she has not cleaned yet today and she has not been in the living room. It's her habit to put things in their right places wherever she goes."

"I see," Shinichi nodded and made a quick look around the room. _'So this room is not supposed to be this messy if Auntie had that kind of habit,' _he stated in mind after noticing the uncovered bed, undressed pillows, open drawers of different cabinets, the messed up contents of these drawers and some things on the floor that might have fallen from these fumbled drawers. He then turned to the direction of the corpse. There he saw a strange man with a mustache, analyzing the body on the floor. The man was not in police uniform but in corporate attire. _'He must be a detective like Takagi-keji,' _Shinichi thought.

"I believe in you, Kudo." Kyosuke prompted, making Shinichi turn back to him. "Solve this case for Auntie." He again clenched his fists in front like a determined child.

Shinichi confidently smiled to him and nodded once more before walking towards the corpse. But he was stopped when the strange mustache man stood up and spoke, "There's no need for that boy to meddle in this case. I already know who the killer is."

"Mouri-kun, don't tell me you have solved this case already?" Megure was a bit surprised.

"Mouri?" Shinichi echoed to himself. As the strange man laughed maniacally with his hands on his waist as a sign of immense pride, Shinichi turned to Inspector Megure and the latter told him about this man.

"He's Mouri Kogoro, a private detective," Megure explained. "By chance, he was with me in the headquarters when the case was reported. He insisted on coming along, so I had no choice. He was once a police detective anyway."

"Oh." Shinichi turned back to the man, ready to listen to what he has found out.

"Based on what I have observed and heard, I know now who killed Sakamino-san." Mouri Kogoro smugly smiled before continuing, "It is you, Sakamino Kyosuke!"

#######

to be continued

This one's for real. XD

Next Conan's Hint!

Blood stain.

**AN: **I hope you enjoyed this chapter.. ^^ some Shinichi and Kaitou randomness.. :p I'm not that good in making crimes (I'm a good girl! :o XD) so I hope you could bear with me for being an amateur crime maker XD xp

Next chapter will reveal the truth behind this case. Keep tuning in! XD ^^ (and while you are waiting, you might as well leave a review.. wahoho! ^o^)


	6. Deduction Showdown: Shinichi vs Mouri

**Chapter 6: The Deduction Showdown: Shinichi vs. Mouri Kogoro**

"W-w-what did you say?" demanded a spiky, auburn-haired teenager, completely taken by surprise.

"You killed, Sakamino Shizuka. I'm certain it was you," the mustached detective repeated his statement, now with a lower vigor.

The teenager instinctively raised a brow as he waited for the detective's next word. The latter cleared his throat before continuing, "You went home early to commit the crime. That's one way to put it simple."

"I went home early to play PS3!" Kyosuke exclaimed, his forehead creased and his fingers wiggling with impatience. "Could I be a criminal just because of that?" He stood up straight and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I even heard Auntie watching tv, but I chose not to disturb her because for sure she'll scold me. I locked myself in my room and played there the whole time."

"But no one could prove that alibi," Mouri countered, his voice stern. "Even though the PS3 is still warm because of having been turned on for a long time, no one can prove that you were really just playing."

The young man scowled, realizing the detective's point. "Mou~"

Shinichi, however, was about to butt in but was stopped when Mouri spoke again with his ever confident gruff voice along with his self-assured smile. "You probably snuck in here to steal some money and when your aunt caught you, you had no other choice but to kill her."

"Well, do you have anything to prove that?" Kyosuke was able to come up with a defense.

Mouri laughed before replying, "No, but I'm sure you'd admit it anyway after I find more clues. Wahaha!"

"Mouri-kun, you never change, do you?" Megure muttered on the side, sighing.

Shinichi sweat-dropped, laughing half-heartedly in his mind, before he realized, _'But he has a point... The messy drawers and undressed pillows probably mean the culprit was _searching_ for the victim's money.' _He cupped his chin as he looked around.

"I told you I did not kill her!" the redhead insisted once more. "And whenever I needed money, Auntie generously gives me."

With that said, Mouri almost fell aside but regained his posture and reasoned, "But what if you needed _more_ than what she gives you?"

Before the argument got worse, Shinichi broke in and shared the idea he just had, "We couldn't be so sure that robbery was the main intention of the culprit and that when he found out that there was someone guarding what he wanted to get, he had no choice but to kill that person." He was calm as he spoke but confidence was noticeably steaming up from him. "It could be the other way around – the culprit really intended to kill the victim and just made it look like robbery."

The older detective contemplated as he mumbled, "Hm... well, you've got a point there."

"And whichever were the case, I believe Kyosuke couldn't be the culprit," Shinichi added making everyone in the room look at him. "If I were a murderer who was smart and mischievous enough to escape from school, I wouldn't stay in the place of the crime too long where no one could prove me innocent."

Mouri was astounded but at the same time, a bit irritated.

"Hear that? In your face, Ojii-san!" Kyosuke laughed maniacally, the way Mouri did earlier.

'_Hey, you don't have to be that proud.' _Shinichi sweat-dropped as he watched his friend tease the senior detective. He then continued sharing his thoughts. "Besides, if Kyosuke really were the culprit, wouldn't hiding the corpse and cleaning the crime scene be smarter of him, instead of reporting it to the police?"

"Yes, yes! And I assure you, I didn't touch anything else in here aside from auntie's neck!" the enthusiastic teen stated as he points at Mouri like a lecturer mother. The two continued to argue – Mouri still supporting his presumption and Kyosuke still defending himself. The detective even mentioned that the boy could have just set up the sweater in the living room and made up the story of the victim acting weird lately. "No I didn't!" Kyosuke kept saying.

"That kid is really noisy," Inspector Megure remarked, sighing.

Having heard him, Shinichi chuckled and said, "He's really like that ever since – enthusiastic even when he doesn't have to be so."

"How did you two become friends anyway? You don't seem like birds of the same feather to me." The inspector had a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"We played soccer in junior high," Shinichi answered. "We were sort of the team's ace players, actually." He rubbed his head and smiled humbly. He refused to enter his current school's soccer team and he hadn't been playing as frequent as before, so it was a bit awkward for him to match up himself with his friend, who, he supposed, was still playing the sport seriously.

"Oh, so it's like you're soccer's Cody and he's the Andy!" Megure laughed as he saw how confused Shinichi became, since he was referring to a Taiwanese basketball series 'Hot Shot' which, for sure, the lad didn't know.

The two-by-two conversations in the room were interrupted when a middle-aged man entered and said, "Sorry to butt in, but I'm pretty sure it was robbery." Everyone turned to him and he continued, "But I guess it was an outside job and the rest was like what Mouri-san said – she was killed when she caught the thief." Having heard of this, Mouri laughed, regaining his confidence when someone supported part of his idea.

The younger detective gave the man a quick analysis. This familiar man of around his 40's was wearing an office attire but without a coat. His left arm was tied up to his neck with a sling and it was wrapped by some bandages up to his hand, his fingers being the only ones revealed. _'Woah, what happened to uncle?'_ Shinichi thought. _'He's the careful type of person no matter how active he is. We used to play soccer with him before, barbecue together, jog in the morning, even had a drink together once, but I never saw him get injured or what. He was the one always reminding us of safety measures.'_

This man of the name Sakamino Shuichiro wore a calm face as he walked closer to them and explained, "I checked the money in the drawer where my wife keeps it, and the money there was gone. I don't think Kyosuke would be the one to do it because his weekly allowance is actually more than what he needs. His parents from abroad send him money, aside from the ones me and my wife give him. Also, the thing he said about my wife's habit and her weirdness lately is true. She was often zoning out and she looked bothered these days, but she refused to tell me what was wrong."

Shinichi listened to every word he said but thought, _'You're saying it's robbery but you're also supporting Kyo's suicide hypothesis… Kinda weird…' _His curiosity then arose, so he asked, "Uncle, what happened to your arm?"

"Oh, this?" Shuichiro turned to his arm then back to Shinichi. "I injured my wrist and broke my arm when a fire occurred last week in the house at the corner." He pointed behind his right shoulder.

"You should have seen all the action back then, Kudo!" Kyosuke intervened. "Uncle rescued a little girl from the third floor of the burning house. He climbed up from window to balcony to window, and jumped down with the girl before the flames burst bigger."

"The firemen have not yet arrived that time and being a former rescue team member in college, I couldn't just stand there and watch the terrified girl cry in the window." Shuichiro smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "While up there, I saw fire angrily coming towards us so I took the risk to jump even though no trampoline was ready to catch us. I was able to prevent my legs from getting injured when we landed, but I had to protect the girl from hitting the ground so my left arm and wrist got injured in the process."

"Ow." Shinichi winced.

"But don't worry, it's nothing serious. The doctor said it will be okay in two or three weeks. I just have to restrict my movements in the meantime," the man reassured.

Shinichi smiled at the good news then shifted to serious mood when he asked, "May I ask uncle, where were you at the time of death?" He turned to the corpse to indicate what he was talking about.

"I was at the bank that time, but at the exact time of death which was 8:37 they say, I was in the bank's comfort room." He, again, showed them his sheepish grin. "I was having a little trouble with my stomach this morning. Someone who had a debt paid to me today so I was to deposit the money in the bank, when my stomach-ache suddenly striked again."

Shinichi looked at Takagi. Realizing what the lad wanted, the latter flipped his notebook open and read something aloud. "He said the same thing when I questioned him earlier in the other room. His officemates said that he was really going in and out of the comfort room this morning, so at about 8:25, their section chief gave him the permission to go out and buy a medicine."

"The drug store was actually beside the bank, so I decided to stop by and deposit the money after I bought this medicine," Shuichiro explained, showing a sealed pill and an empty pack from his pocket. "I think it was because of the squid I ate this morning." He sweat-dropped, a bit embarrassed.

"The bank employees confirmed what he said. It was a man named Yamada who led him to the CR," Takagi added.

"Hm." Shinichi nodded before leaving his spot to search for clues. He went close to the body and bent down for a closer look, cupping his chin automatically. As he analyzed the corpse's position, he noted that she was lying straight on her back with her feet towards the window and her head near the rocking chair that faced the TV. _'She must have fallen immediately after being stabbed. No weapon of any kind for self defense beside her and no signs of struggle… other than her fully straightened fingers.' _His mind visualized a dying scene – the woman, as she struggled for breath on the floor, was trying to reach her killer but couldn't. He shook his head back to reality. _'She does not have anything stuck on her nails that could possibly help nor any dying message…' _He stood up and turned to Inspector Megure who was right beside him, talking to a police officer. "Megure-kebu, have you searched the whole house and its perimeter for the murder weapon?"

"Yup, but nothing was found," replied the inspector.

"How about the knives in the kitchen, are they complete? Did any of them match the wound?" was Shinichi's follow-up.

"The lad said no knives were missing. As for the wound, the forensics team would actually check that matter after you're done inspecting the body, Kudo-kun. I told them to wait for you."

"Aw, that's so thoughtful of you, Kebu!" Shinichi grinned.

The inspector merely gave a slight smirk. "I just happen to know how a mystery maniac you are, and your meticulous observations are a great help." He called the attention of two men, and turned back to Shinichi. "Now if you're done, I'll have them further check the body."

Shinichi nodded eagerly. "Auntie…" he heard his friend mumble as the latter approached him and followed the corpse with his eyes as it was being carried away. In the young detective's mind, _'Poor Sakamichi… He was very close to his aunt…' _He pictured the times when Kyosuke would randomly hug his aunt when he's happy. _'He treated her like a mother…'_

"Ne, Kudo," Kyosuke called, the worry in his voice earlier now gone. Shinichi turned to face him. "Something's bothering me."

Having thought that his friend would tell him something helpful, Shinichi's face quickly brightened.

"Your hair, it bothers me," Kyosuke whispered but it was still loud enough to be heard by Megure. "Have you been having that hairstyle since you entered Teitan High? You look a bit weird, man. Where are your banana-bangs and that chocolate-cube-like hair on top of your head?"

After disappointment and annoyance sank in together, Shinichi realized that he forgot something. _'Crap, I forgot to un-Kaitou my hair!'_

"That's not actually the only weird thing about you today, Kudo-kun," Megure interfered. "Earlier when I called you, you seemed so cheerful even after I told you that there was a case and somebody was killed. I thought you seemed out of your usual self."

Shinichi gave the two a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head. _'That guy… I'm trying my best not to be caught disguising as him but he's not doing his part properly!' _He, in his thoughts, was very opposite to how he was in the real world. "Err, that time, a classmate of mine was doing something silly in front of the class, so I had to laugh even when I was supposed to be serious. Uh, my hair, it was uhm, I spilled a chemical on it in class, that's why it is like this," he said as he lifted a bunch of strands and made an effort to look at it. He quickly messed his whole hair up, trying, as if the effect of the hair foam he used to tame his bangs would go off if he did so. The young detective only ended up getting a wake-up hair, making the two raise a brow at him as he chuckled uneasily.

#######

"Hachoo!"

Kaitou rubbed his nose vehemently as he walked on the 3rd floor hallway. "Is someone talking about me or is someone cursing me right now?"

He was heading for his next class' room, down at the 2nd floor, carrying only a notebook and a pen on his hand. As usual, girls were lined up on the sides sighing dreamily as he walked past them, but this time, keeping in mind that he was Shinichi, he ignored them and acted as the mysterious seemingly-uninterested-in-girls detective he was supposed to be. The moment he reached the stairs, however, someone he couldn't ignore called his name. "Kudo-kun! There you are."

"Fujiyama-sensei?" he replied, a bit surprised and curious of what she meant by 'There you are.'

"I want you to play the lead role in the play festival," she said her point straight.

"Eh?" was the young man's quick emotionless reaction along with a blink, having thought he just heard her wrong.

"In the play festival, I said, I want you to take the lead role in our section's play. Since I'm 3-A's class adviser, I'm also in charge of you guys in the festival," she stated with a smirk. "I saw a great potential in you when I watched you play the piano." She smiled as she recalled the event. "You did well in bringing out the emotions of the piece you played. I expect you to be as impressive in acting out a role." Her eyes gave him a hint of a challenge.

Without thinking twice because his pride in disguising and acting was being held in question, he nodded with a determined face, and that was all she needed.

"Okay, better prepare yourself, Kudo-kun," the woman advised as she walked past him, still wearing a smirk on her face.

"Matte, Fujiyama-sensei," he called, making her turn around. This previously serious lad instantly grinned. "Could Aoko-chan be my partner in the lead role?"

Taking time to comprehend what she heard, the teacher giggled when she replied, "Sure. I think you two would be a nice pair."

"Alright!" He leaned his back on the wall and smiled to himself when his music teacher left, only to change it with an 'Ooops' facial expression. _'Shimatta, I forgot I was Shinichi!'_ He hit his head lightly onto the wall as he bit his lower lip. _'Now even just the thought of Aoko makes me act like the real me! Lead role in the play? God, Shinichi would kill me for sure.'_

#######

"HAchoo!" was the sudden blurt from Shinichi. As he snuffled for air while checking the contents of one drawer, the older mustached detective muttered beside him, "A kid like you should be sitting in school and studying the history of Japan, not meddling with the police affairs." His voice was low but it sounded annoyed.

He merely grinned at him, but in his mind he was sweatdropping, saying, _'Occhan, I'm a detective like you.'_

When Mouri left his side to search the room for more helpful things, he also stood up and went towards the open window. It was a vertically sliding window, opened to its fullest. The young detective squinted. _'The opening is approximately 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet. A person could get in easily.' _As he drew closer to it, he noticed black marks on the windowpane. He lightly touched it with an index finger and sniffed the sample before rubbing it with his thumb. It disappeared just like powder. _'Dirt…' _He examined the other sides of the window, as well as the glass. Anyone looking at it would say that it was clean and probably maintained dustless._ 'So this dirt-'_

Somebody suddenly interrupted Shinichi's thoughts. "I bet the thief came through here. Do you think he really intended to get my wife's money or he randomly picked a window and robbed whatever room he got into?" The lad turned to the source of the voice. Shuichiro was there beside him not taking his eyes away from the dirt on the windowpane.

Shinichi just slowly shook his head when Shuichiro looked at him. He then looked down through the window. There he saw no other windows below the one where he was. Not even any thing that could be used to go up there, except for a branch outstretched from a nearby tree. _'From the looks of it, it is thick enough to carry a person that would want to come up to this widow. And that tree…' _He turned to the tree ahead. _'Any agile person could climb it.' _

The young Sherlock pulled his head from the window to look at the two. As he inserted his hands on his pockets, he watched as Shuichiro and Kyosuke talked to Mouri, the two standing by a wooden bookshelf. _'Okay, robbery, if the two of them were the suspects, would be out of the list of possibilities. Kyosuke was said to have no reason to steal as defended by Uncle earlier. Uncle could steal from Auntie without going through all the trouble sneaking in during his work time. He could do it at night when she's asleep or when she's just out of their room. Considering murder intent, however, both of them could do it, having no solid alibi to prove them innocent. They could both climb that tree – Kyosuke's an athlete; Uncle, despite his age, was able to save a girl from a burning house last week. But with that injury he has, it would be hard for Uncle to climb it. Kyosuke, on the other hand, doesn't need to enter from the window if he was, as he said, in the house the whole time. That is, unless he was planning to make it a locked room case, but he did not mention that the room was locked when the body was discovered. Hm… Well, robbery again: If it were an outsider, why would he enter this room if he could clearly see from the tree that someone was in here? Even if she went out for a while when he decided to enter, that's still a big risk. He could have just studied the house first and find out where the people inside are before barging in, so he could avoid them. And besides, house robbery at around this time of the day and while there are people inside the house?' _He raised a brow at the thought. _'Murder, if an outsider did it, was also possible. Someone with a grudge on Auntie, though I have no idea who would have. As far as I know, she's nice to everyone she knows. I guess I should clear the suspicion on the two first, before resorting to that possibility.'_

Before turning his eyes away from the two, he noticed something white sticking out from the top of the tall wooden bookshelf. It was as if calling him to check it out. Getting all curious, he walked towards the shelf, narrowing his eyes at the white thing as he did so, trying to identify what it was before getting to it. When he couldn't have a good guess, his attention turned momentarily to the bookshelf. He noticed, _'Seems like all the weight is placed on the upper part…' _There were three shelf layers above and a two-door cabinet at the bottom. The two top layers were fully occupied by thick books ranging from dictionaries to encyclopedias to literary books. A few picture frames were on the first layer. Meanwhile, the cabinet below had its doors open and the drawers inside it also scrabbled.

When Shinichi arrived in front of the shelf, he tiptoed to reach the white corner-of-a-paper-like thing on top. The top of the shelf actually has a fence-like design, forbidding anyone to see what was there. When he pulled the white thing, Shinichi felt a pair of sharp eyes glare at him. He quickly turned around but didn't catch anyone looking at him. Eyes still alert, he looked at the thing in his hand; it was a photograph after all.

The photo was a bit yellowish. It was as old as the date printed on the lower right corner. In the picture, a girl and a boy were smiling tenderly. The boy's left arm was on the girl's left shoulder. Both of them had a peace sign with their right hands. Shinichi smiled halfheartedly. _'High school lovers, Auntie and Un- Hey, this isn't Uncle!' _His eyes widened. Out of instinct, he turned the photo around and saw a handwritten message, the ink still bright, a proof that it was written just recently. It read:

_Hey Shiz,_

_Remember this pic? I've been keeping it for quite a while now. I'm sure you're surprised seeing this. It has been my only memento of you since we broke up back then. But now I'm really happy that you came back to me. Remember that I still love you and I always will._

_Kazuya_

With his eyes not turning away from the photograph at hand, Shinichi was struck by utmost shock as his mind grasped the thought. His eyes then wandered to the top of the shelf again, hungry for more information it could give. He noticed that when he pulled the photo earlier, more stuck out over its fence. He tiptoed again to reach for them and doing so, his right hand felt something like a book. It was a bit heavy and was placed at the far end of the shelf top, so he had to exert more effort to pull it. However, as he finally got the book to the edge of the shelf, the whole big thing lost its balance and was about to fall on him. "Crap!"

Fortunately, two helpful hands were able to support it, causing only the books other than the ones those hands were holding to fall onto the floor. The picture frames on one layer were lucky enough to be spared from falling.

Shinichi quickly faced the person to his left and apologized instead of thanking him. "Sorry, Uncle." He showed him a sincere apologetic smile.

Shuichiro calmly smiled at him as he quickly pushed the shelf back to its place and said, "It's okay, Shinichi," before bending down to pick up everything that fell. "What were you doing with the shelf anyway? You really like checking out things that hit your curiosity, huh? You never change." He laughed. Shinichi just laughed as well, one hand at the back of his head.

In a split second, the young detective froze, as the previous scene flashed in his mind, taking note of how Shuichiro propped up the falling shelf. _'He used both of his hands… He- he said his left wrist was injured; how could he bend his hand like that and even support a heavy object? …and he didn't even twitch or show pain.'_ He looked down at Shuichiro, seeing him place the books temporarily on the picture-frame layer of the shelf because he could only use his right hand. _'Now it's as if he couldn't use his left hand again.' _He took a deep breath to calmly sort out his thoughts.

When Shuichiro stood up to place the books he put on the first layer back to the third layer of the shelf, Shinichi woke from his trance and immediately bent down to help pick up the things on the floor. He placed aside the heavy book he got from the top of the shelf which was, as he has found out, a photo album. Upon collecting the fallen encyclopedias to his left arm, another photo showed up to him after being covered by one of the books he picked up. He took it and saw what he expected – another photo of Shizuka and the man named Kazuya. But this time, it was a more recent one – basing on how older they both looked – and this particular photo was a more shocking one because the two were kissing!

When Shuichiro was about to bend down again, Shinichi panicked and inserted the photo in a random page of one of the books he was holding. He stood up quickly, avoiding any possible contacts between Shuichiro and the photo he hid. But on the contrary, a detail on the man's bandaged left hand was not able to avoid this young Sherlock's sharp eyes – there was a blood stain on it, on the center part of the back of the man's hand.

'_When did that- How did he-' _From being a bit panicky, Shinichi turned calm but dismayed when his mind finally figured out the puzzle. As each of his observations from the very beginning flashed back in his mind, his eyes remained staring at nothing in particular ahead.

Without saying any word, he finished returning the books on the shelf. When Shuichiro smiled at him after they were done, he merely forced his lips to form a curve. He left the site of the shelf and went to Takagi who was by the door.

"Takagi-keji, how did the knife testing turn out?" Shinichi asked in a seemingly uninterested tone, which Takagi noticed.

"Kudo-kun, what happened to you? Sleepy?" the man kidded. When the lad didn't reply, Takagi sweat-dropped and resorted to answering the boy's question instead. "They haven't reported yet but I guess it should be done by now." He glanced at his wrist watch.

Just in time, an eyeglass-wearing man wearing an overall blue outfit came running towards them, carrying a clipboard with papers on it.

"Forensics Ojisan," Shinichi welcomed. "How was it?"

The man breathed and shook his head before answering, "None of the six kitchen knives matched the wound." He showed to the two detectives the papers he was holding but Shinichi handed it fully to Takagi before walking away back into the room. The lad knew that there was no need for him to see neither the pictures nor the information about the knives and the victim's wound.

When he got back in, he saw the mustached detective standing at the center of the room, laughing confidently. "You're just in time, boy. I have already solved this case. Listen and learn from your senpai! Wahaha!" But the look Mouri gave him was more like an 'I won, boy. Listen and hear how wrong you were.'

Shinichi just smiled lazily and decided to hear the man out. He walked and stood beside his friend.

"I won't be beating around the bush anymore," Mouri started. "The killer is Sakamino Kyosuke!"

Kyosuke pointed to himself with a bewildered expression. "Me?"

Mouri nodded.

"I told you it wasn't me!" the auburn-haired lad exclaimed.

"You sneaked into the room through that window." Mouri pointed.

"Are you sure about that, Mouri-kun?" Megure asked.

"Certainly," replied the detective before turning back to his suspect. "You went here to kill your aunt because you had a fight with her, which was also the cause why she has been acting weird when you're around, as if she didn't want to eat with you or be with you."

"What? A fight now?" Kyosuke raised a brow. "What did we fight about?"

"I thought so you'd pretend to be innocent." Mouri smirked.

"And why would I enter through that window when I was actually inside the house?" was the follow up of the lad.

"Of course, to make it seem like an outsider barged in to steal and killed your aunt," replied the self-assured Mouri. "Besides, if you entered through the door, she wouldn't be lying there by the window when she was killed, duh."

Shinichi's face brightened a bit as he raised a brow. He was about to laugh but he was able to stop it. Kyosuke, on the other hand, grimaced, saying, "Of course if she wasn't killed there, she wouldn't be lying there! Duh! What I meant was, why would I bother enter through a window if I could enter through a door?"

"Elementary, my boy," Mouri immediately replied, imitating Sherlock Holmes' way of revealing a trick or a reason. "You wanted to make it look like a locked room case so you wouldn't be suspected if you were in the house but outside the victim's locked room."

"But the room wasn't locked, Mouri-kun," interrupted Megure.

"That's because he forgot to lock it before jumping out of the window," Mouri stated flatly, making the people around him fell onto their feet sweatdropping.

"I'm smart enough not to forget something like that if that were the case, you know." Kyosuke crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Sorry, Mouri-san but I think you're deduction's not making a clear point. Kyosuke could never kill his aunt," Shuichiro interfered, lightly massaging his left hand with his right hand while his eyes remained at Mouri. Kyosuke looked at him with thankful eyes, glad that his uncle trusted him. "It was an outside job, I'm sure," the man added.

Shinichi's amused eyes turned alert. He then decided to cut the discussion short, remembering that he still has to get back to school. With a low voice and eyes staring at the floor, he spoke, "Give it up uncle…"

Everybody turned to face Shinichi as he continued, frowning, "Give up with that idea of an outside job…"

The young detective looked at the man, eye-to-eye despite their distance. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "I know you're a good person, Uncle – you have always been guiding me and Kyosuke when we were young, you saved a girl from a burning house, you saved me from the shelf earlier, you keep on defending Kyosuke's innocence – but no matter how nice your records are, there's still this one thing that would leave a stain on it forever." His eyes softened. "A stain just like the one on your bandage."

Shuichiro was struck. His eyes trembled as he glanced at his hands through the corner of his eyes. Though he already stopped massaging his left hand, his right hand was still on it.

"Now, do I have to explain things in sequence or would you just admit it?" Shinichi's eyes were begging, not questioning. Through eye contact, he was telling Shuichiro that he doesn't want to be the one to bring him behind bars. But he knew he had no other choice. It was his job to reveal the truth, to solve cases and at least give justice to those whose lives were taken unlawfully. No matter how much he didn't want it to happen, there is only one truth, and finding it out gave him the responsibility that comes with knowing it.

Shuichiro stayed silent, now staring at the floor and starting to sweat.

Mouri looked back and forth at Shinichi and Shuichiro. Realizing what the younger detective found out, he quickly jumped in front of everyone again and started another deduction show. "I know it now! The killer is Sakamino-san." He smiled smugly. "How he did it? Well…"

Shinichi decided to butt in before Mouri could commit another mistake or get flooded with questions he couldn't answer. He was frustrated enough so he had no appetite for another humorous reasoning. "First, you had to pretend to be stomach ill and go to the restroom distinctively more than usual." Everyone's attention shifted to Shinichi again. "You had to share that 'problem' to your co-workers as well so they would understand you, and even let you have the opportunity you needed to do what you planned. Probably asking for it yourself, your boss allowed you to buy your medicine at the drugstore. After buying, you went to the bank and fell in line as if just planning to deposit some money."

Everyone except Shuichiro were attentively picturing in mind Shinichi's narration. "Then, you made effort to get their attention, though it was a bit embarrassing in your part, just so you would have at least one witness to prove that you were really at the bank at that time with your aching stomach. It was also part of your plan to get the bank employees to allow you to use their comfort room. I assume that you have already studied the bank's restroom – that it has a window you could use to escape and carry out your bigger plan."

Shinichi stopped to analyze Shuichiro's reaction. He was still waiting for the man to just admit it, but Shuichiro chose to test his detective skills. The man's eyes encouraged Shinichi to continue, and so he did. "So there, having established an alibi, you went to your house, bringing your weapon with you. It may or may not be out of luck that your wife was in your room – you may have told her beforehand to stay here or you just know that it was part of her daily routine to watch TV here at that certain time."

He walked across the room towards the open window, everyone's eyes following him. "You climbed that tree, checked the presence of your wife in this room, and once sure, you used that branch to get close enough to be able to leap from there to here." He tapped the windowpane while everybody had confused eyes on him.

"How was that possible, Kudo-kun? He has an injury right?" Megure voiced out everyone's confusion. The young detective just shook his head with a faint smile on his lips, making Megure and the others realize the secret. "Y-you mean…?"

Shinichi put his hands in his pockets and continued, his eyes confident. "When you entered here, your wife approached you. Of course she wouldn't grab a bat, a stick or any sort of weapon because you're not a stranger." He shrugged. "When she was close enough, that was when you stabbed her, forcing her down immediately onto the floor in the process. She wasn't able to struggle or leave any dying message because she couldn't reach you to fight back and you made sure that she was really dead before you left."

His eyes roamed around the room as he went on. "To make it look as if robbery was the intention of the killer, you messed up the room, pretending to be searching for the money, the location of which, you know, of course. You also left this footprint on purpose," He pointed the dirt on the windowpane. "…so that the blame would not be put on you, who is injured and on Kyosuke, who, as you have probably found out, was in the house at that time."

Kyosuke faced his uncle with a pair of questioning eyes. When the latter didn't look at him, he went back to listening to his friend's deduction.

"Oh, and your wife's money," Shinichi added, "You really took it, so that the 'robbery' would be unquestionable." He gestured quotation marks with his fingers, indicating the falsehood of robbery. "Most likely, you have deposited it in the bank after returning there through their transporter CR. And there it was, success."

"Wait, Kudo-kun, your deduction was really good, but do you have the evidence that this man really killed his wife?" Megure inquired.

Mouri, still with the spirit of competition, second the motion smugly, "Yeah, where's your proof, young man?"

"Evidence and proof you say? It's all hidden – no, revealed in those bandages," Shinichi stated, causing everyone to turn to the suspect and his bandaged and sling-wrapped left arm. Shuichiro stood still, his right hand still covering his left hand like before. "First, the back of your left hand is bleeding, though not that severe." Everybody turned quickly to look at Shuichiro's left hand. Megure even checked it personally before Shinichi continued. "You might say that when you rescued the girl last week, you got minor scratches on your arm and hand aside from those injuries. But if that were the case, shouldn't those scratches be healed and scabbed by now? So why is there a mark of fresh blood on the bandage of your hand?" Almost everyone else cupped their chin and nodded as they considered his analysis correct.

"Second, when you saved me from the falling shelf that was about to hit me earlier – you could have just let it hit me, but since you are by nature a rescuer, you acted out of instinct and that was when I noticed that you used both of your hands to stop it and push it back to its place. Your supposedly injured left hand could actually catch a falling heavy shelf without causing you any pain."

"Kudo, hey, are you sure about this?" Kyosuke was still a bit overwhelmed with everything his friend said.

Shinichi merely nodded in response.

Megure then asked, "Wait, how does that blood on his hand connect with the case?"

"The knife inside Uncle's bandages caused the bleeding of his left hand. The murder weapon." With that said, everybody's eyes widened.

"It is sensible to hide the knife with you until the investigation is done, anyway," Shinichi added. "Had you left it somewhere else, we might be able to find it and trace it back to you if we figure out where it was bought." The young detective then frowned and looked down. "You're really kind, Uncle, but because of your kind heart, you also caused yourself to be exposed."

Shuichiro smiled and put his right hand down on his side, revealing the bloodstain on his bandage. "I've always been so proud of you, Shinichi. Every time I see your name on the news for having solved a case, I feel this fatherly delight and admiration for you. Now I have seen how good you really are." He then removed his sling and unwrapped the bandage on his arm as he continued, "I don't want Kyosuke to be suspected and blamed for something he didn't do… I don't want to see you get hurt as well, Shinichi… You two… I have always treated you like my own sons – the sons I've never had." He paused for a while, trying to stop the welling up of tears in his eyes. When the long white but bloodstained bandage fell on the floor, he started untying the knife from his left arm. Doing so, the police men, the other two detectives, the inspector and Kyosuke, saw the reason why Shuichiro had a bleeding hand – the tip of the sharp knife wounded the back of his hand when he caught the falling shelf earlier. "I guess I'll never be a good father that's why God never gave me my own child." He chuckled. Both Shinichi and Kyosuke shook their heads eagerly when they heard him say that.

"You're right Shinichi, no matter how many I save, how heroic I become with my white cape, there's still one stain that, no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to hide." He dropped the knife on the floor, and then he fell on his knees. Takagi immediately picked up the knife and placed it in a sealable plastic bag before Shuichiro could do something terrible with it.

"I did that because she was cheating on me." Shuichiro's tone was deep. "Not to mention, it was obvious – I caught her but she kept on having an affair with that guy." He looked up to Shinichi and said, smiling, "I suppose you saw my motive from that picture you got from the shelf." Shinichi didn't lose his seriousness when he nodded. The man then looked at his left hand as he stretched it forward and exercised his fingers. "That woman was despicable; after cheating on me, she had the guts to blackmail me… When I first found out about her affair, we talked about it and I was even the one who begged her to just forget about it and start over, as I am really willing to forgive her because I loved her so much. But she was dense enough to continue her relationship with Kazuya and ask three million from me, saying she would file a divorce and make up stories about me not being a decent husband if I won't pay her." He sighed. "I couldn't believe that the beautiful woman I married became a monster. Anyway, I wasn't able to pay her of course, since I don't have three million at hand, and if ever I did, I would just donate it to charitable institutions instead of giving it to a monstrous woman like her and her man. But she was wild. She threatened me that if I don't do something to come up with three million, she would hurt her self and frame me up for attempted murder. Knowing her, she does everything she could just to accomplish her goal once decided about it. That was when I thought, 'Why not reverse the situation?' So I planned to kill her and make it look like someone we do not know did it. That woman is not the type of person to commit suicide anyway, and I don't want anyone to be framed up with the wrong accusation – not even that Kazuya." He laughed. "You're right again, Shinichi. My kindness backstabbed me again."

Shuichiro stood up and surrendered his arms to Takagi, ready to be cuffed. "I'm still so proud of you, Shinichi. You have grown to become an ally of justice – you're not biased, not narrow-minded, just seeking for the truth. I hope you could teach my nephew to be a fine young man as you are." He showed Shinichi his gentlest smile before turning to face Kyosuke.

"Uncle Shu…" the auburn-haired teenager mumbled; his enthusiasm already fully drained. He couldn't find the right words to say nor the right actions to do. He just stared at his uncle, eyes filled with mixed emotions as he waited for his own lips to mutter some words on their own.

Shuichiro didn't know what to say as well. At that time, he was starting to worry about how this boy would live his everyday alone. Recalling how naughty but wise this boy could be, his anxiety quickly dissolved. Before finally walking out of the room with Takagi, he managed to smiled at his nephew for the last time and said, "I'm sorry, Kyosuke."

#######

'_Why do they have to resort to killing? There are a lot of solutions to a single problem, right? But why do they do that? Why…?'_

Shinichi was lost in his thoughts as he was walking back to school. Judging from the face he wore, he was still a bit upset about what happened earlier.

Suddenly, a low snarl came, getting his full attention. He sighed before muttering, "I'm hungry." He then checked his wrist watch, which made him widen his eyes instantly. "Crap, Mouri Occhan's deductions took away my lunch break!" He laughed. _"That guy's funny. I've never met him nor heard of him before but he looks kind of familiar."_ He remembered the last look the mustached man gave him before he left. _'But next time I see him, I don't think he would be this nice to me… That look he gave me tells me that I should be more careful in our next encounter. I wonder how it would be like…'_ He ended up chuckling to himself until his stomach gave another growl. _'When I get back, I won't have any time to eat.' _He looked around and smiled upon seeing a bakery across the street.

After buying some Spanish bread, he decided to run his way towards school. "Itadakimasu!" he said before taking a bite. Though he knew that running and eating at the same time wouldn't be good for his tummy, he still did so.

When he reached the school gate and, at the same time, finished his bread, he turned left and stopped when he reached the part of the brick wall that encloses a row of trees inside the school grounds. Since the school fence/wall was just as tall as he was, it was not hard for him to reach the top and jump over it. The trees inside served as a cover for him if ever some teachers or school personnel were roaming around. When he landed behind a cherry blossom tree, he checked the area before dashing towards the fire exit at the left side of the school building. While climbing up to the third floor, he remembered to Kaitoufy his hair again. He did so by just messing it up really hard and forcing his bangs down, because his hair foam was not in his bag, he left it at home.

'_There, I think I'm Kaitou enough.' _He giggled upon his first step on the third floor fire exit. He opened the door quietly and looked left and right before barging in. Good thing that no one else was around. He darted towards the 3-B classroom and was relieved when he saw Kaitou's classmates not on their seats. Some girls were gathered at one corner and some boys were by the door, playing duel cards. When he entered, the boys greeted him with, "Oi, Kudo! Where have you been?" He just chuckled with them, saying, "Secret~"

"What happened to you?" a worried female voice greeted him next when he got further in.

"Ran." He grinned sheepishly while still panting a little bit. "There was… uhm, an emergency."

"Emergency?" Ran chorused with Sonoko who was just coming near.

"No, no. Just uhm, I had an emergency," he reasoned. "Some problems with this guy." He pointed to his stomach. _'Lame. I had to use the same excuse… Oh well, in this case it's enough for an alibi – no one could prove me right, yet no one could prove me wrong.'_

Unlike Sonoko who laughed as expected, Ran was serious. She walked closer to him, her eyes cautious and curious, as if she was about to confirm something.

'_What? Is there something on my face? Do I still look like Shinichi? Darn, I should be bringing a can of hair foam, hair spray, hair gel or whatever with me always.'_

To Shinichi's surprise, she stretched out her hands to reach for his tie and fix it. "Good thing it wasn't something worse. You look like you've been raped by 10 persons." She chuckled as she smoothed down the collar of his uniform. She then tiptoed to reach his hair and brush down the wayward little strands with her fingers. "Are you feeling okay now?"

"Uh…" It took him a while to answer properly. _'Wow…I thought she was always as pushy as earlier, demanding answers to a lot of questions…This morning she looked scary as if she's going to bite me if I don't respond. But now she's so gentle. I could feel her fingers but it's just like wind blowing on my hair… Haha! I guess girls are just like that – weird and changing every moment.'_

"Yeah, I-I guess I'm alright now." He grinned when she put down her hands. "Uh, what happened while I was gone? Did I miss something big?"

"Nothing big in particular, just some lecture, no pop quiz or seatwork." She shrugged. "Anyway, today's big thing is just up next. You're actually seven minutes early." She giggled, saying, "What piece are you going to play?"

"Huh?" He instinctively raised a brow.

Ran brought down the eyebrow with a finger as she answered, "Did the toilet eat your memory? Today's our practical test in music, remember?" She laughed.

Her last sentence struck Shinichi really hard that he froze and melted at the same time, his face horrified. He quickly turned his back on the two and hurried out of the room.

Ran tilted her head to the side. "Did I say something wrong?"

Sonoko went to her side, chuckling. "He just needs another toilet break, I guess."

#######

Upon stepping out of the room, Shinichi brought out his phone and called his brother. _'Come on, pick it up.' _He turned right, towards the room of 3-A only to find, _'They're not here?'_

He decided to go to the restroom and that was when Kaitou finally answered his call.

"Oh. How was the case?"

"Where are you?"

Kaitou chuckled from the other end of the line, saying "Chill. What's the problem? I'm here in the laboratory, fourth floor."

The sound of flowing water was heard from the other end. Shinichi was rinsing his hair after he turned the phone into loud speaker mode and placed it beside the sink. Of course, he had made sure that he was the only one there in the restroom. "Baka. Today's your practical test in music!"

"Fluttering chips! I forgot about that!"

"Hey, hey, calm down." After refreshing himself, Shinichi's stress also went away with the water. He chuckled as he took the phone to his ear again and fondled his hair back and forth to dry. Doing so, Ran's image when she was fixing his clothes and hair flashed in his mind but not for long. He smiled at the thought before turning back to his brother. "Find a way to get out of your class. I'll be there by the door. Head to the music room afterwards, and make sure you look like your real self before your classmates see you."

"Aye, aye, sir!" Kaitou chuckled before hanging up.

Shinichi immediately headed to the fourth floor where both the laboratory his brother was talking about and the music room were situated.

Kaitou on the other hand rummaged through the contents of his bag and grabbed a small black rectangular box which looked like a stick of candy or gum. He walked towards the window pretending to have received another call, leaving his group's table. His groupmates didn't mind him anyway because their attention was drawn towards the peculiar small pink balls rolling on the floor. "Hey, what are those?" one of them asked.

There were six of the pink balls, each rolling towards the five tables and the teacher's table. When almost all were looking at them, these balls suddenly exploded and emitted pink smoke.

While everyone was coughing and was temporarily blinded by the thick smoke, Kaitou seized the chance to rush out of the room, and there he met his twin.

"What a trick," commented the smirking Shinichi.

Kaitou smirked as well and said, "Don't worry; it's not made out of harmful stuff. Just open the window for them. That was where they last saw me."

"Hai hai!" Shinichi enthusiastically replied before exchanging cell phones with his brother and going inside the pinkly-polluted room.

Kaitou then picked up the bag his twin left on the floor and ran towards the restroom to rinse his Shinichi-hair as well.

Shinichi, on the other hand, just ran straight, knowing that the windows and the door were at the opposite sides of the room. He quickly turned the knob and pushed the windows open, releasing the pink smoke into the outside air.

Once the room was clear, every one turned to their 'hero', who merely smiled in return.

Aoko, from the group whose table was by the windows, turned to face Shinichi, and she thanked him shortly. Afterwards, she suddenly raised a brow, asking, "Why's your hair wet, Kudo-kun?" She was referring to the lad's incompletely dry brownish locks.

Shinichi glanced to his right, at the back of the room where the laboratory sink was located, before replying, "Uh, some chemicals were spilled on my hair so I rinsed it." He then chuckled uneasily with a hand at the back of his head.

The girl smirked and said, "If you're going to make an excuse, make a better one. We're in the Physics lab, you know."

He forced a laugh, "Of course I'm just kidding." _'Tsk, why can't I come up with better excuses today?'_

#######

Kaitou arrived at the music room before his classmates did. He just smiled at Ran, a bit clueless of how his brother made his excuse with them. They didn't have a chance to talk though, since the practical test started right away.

After five people played their piece, Kaitou was called next. He walked slowly towards the grand piano; mind still not made up on what piece he would play. He was choosing among Chopin Waltz, Eine Kleine Master, Berceuse Lullaby and Claire de Lune. Indeed, if you know quite a lot, it's hard to choose the best one to play on a one-time performance. More titles were coming up to his mind. _'Moonlight Sonata? No, that's too long. Minuet in G? Nah… Hm, Canon sounds good! But that's quite common nowadays, somebody here would probably play that… Darn, I can't choose!'_

"Kudo-kun?" called the teacher, Ms. Fujiyama. Kaitou was already seated at the piano but he was not moving. He just sat there, mind flying far away from where his body was.

'_How about Habanera? Nah, that's better suited if there would be a pair who would dance tango. Hm, I guess at this time of the day, a lullaby would be good. Afternoons are napternoons, haha! But no! I should do the opposite. If I play something sleepy, everyone would be sleepy! I should play something that would wake them all up and cause their energy to boost. That's right, something like-'_

His thoughts were interrupted when Ms. Fujiyama called him again, but this time, a lot louder. "Kudo Kaitou!"

Her stern voice made him shudder in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry." He grinned at her and everyone upon quickly remembering where he was. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his posture and lifted his hands just above the piano keys. _'Come what may, whatever my hands play.'_ He smiled playfully before pressing down a key.

His music started with a rhythmic soothing melody that made his teacher smile upon hearing it. Just then, when his audience was already swaying their heads to the tune, his melody changed. The people even got surprised with his sudden hard press on a chord followed by another mellow segment. No one could recognize what song he was playing until his graceful fingers produced the lively intro of the piece "Eine Kleine Master" as whispered by Ms. Fujiyama. "Creative opening Kudo-kun," she commented silently.

'_Well, this is my piece now I guess.' _Kaitou smiled to himself. While playing, a lot of things passed by his mind. One of those was the advantages of the song he was playing. _'Vivacious… simple but uplifting… playful…' _he thought.

As his fingers literally played with the keys, he kept smiling because the song reminded him a lot about his childhood. He remembered the time when his mother taught him how to play the piano. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was the first piece he was able to play. And this song he was playing now, it was actually the first piece he learned to play on his own.

He closed his eyes, tilted his head slightly upward and pictured in mind the days when his family would go to the park and have a picnic when he was little. He and his twin would usually run around chasing a dog or a cat or a butterfly or a bird in their attempt to catch it and make it their pet, while their mom set up their mat and their dad unload their things from the car. He then came back to his senses and focused on the keys. But his mind still wandered to the other side of the globe. _'I wonder what those guys are doing right now…'_ He smirked. _'I bet dad is reading a newspaper and mom is using her charms on him, asking permission to have a girls' night out. Or it could be the other way around – mom is completely aggravated because dad had a drink with his friends last night and went home late and drunk.' _He giggled. _'Those two… They're 'missable' sometimes…'_

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when his right ring finger slipped on a black key, unintentionally pressing a white one beside it. "Shahh," he muttered. With just a little mistake, he got distracted and forgot what part he currently was. _'Where was I? Where was I? Where was I?' _ Though his hands kept on playing the current part – the chorus of the song, he couldn't remember what the next part should be. _'Am I about to finish this before my hand slipped or was that just the second to the last chorus?'_

Having thought that an excess is better than a shortage, he decided to just repeat the chorus and then play the ending part. He glanced at his audience; no one seemed to notice his little mistake or sense something wrong. He sighed in relief, but unbeknownst to him, someone on the other side of the piano, directly opposite to him, caught him repeating the chorus when it shouldn't be repeated.

'_Tsk, tsk, not focusing, Kudo-kun…'_ Ms. Fujiyama smirked before writing something on her note pad. But upon hearing the adlib Kaitou added, she smiled and thought, _'You're remarkably creative, though.'_

When the song ended, everyone cheered for Kaitou and like the usual, girls were dreamily staring at him as he stood up and approached his seat. Though he had a tiny slip-up on his piece, he felt really good because the song was definitely refreshing for him.

And that was the last panicky event that day. Both Shinichi and Kaitou sighed and smiled at the same time. Their day has been so full of action but they were glad that it was about to wrap up in a rather nice and peaceful way.

#######

To be continued.

#######

Done done done! ^o^

Whew… at last… *cheers* XD I hope you enjoyed reading. ^^ if there are some things you want to say, suggest or correct, just tell me. n_n But if there aren't, just tell me what you think, how you felt, or what you want to request, or anything under the sun! XD (Do I look desperate for a review? Hahaha! XD)

Albireo-san, thanks! ^^ I couldn't reply to you because there wasn't a reply link on the review mail that was sent to me ^_^ but I'm glad you liked Twins. ^o^ don't worry i'll try to put more Kaitou-Aoko scenes for you and for everyone ;) XD

Of course, thank you, all of you who are reading this! \(^o^)/ whether you give a review (here I go again XD) or not, I'm really glad and thankful for your support. School is getting busy now but don't worry, this fic won't be abandoned! Never! Hahaha! XD ^^

There are still a lot of things that would happen, a lot of problems the twins would encounter and a lot of… uhm… you know what I mean! XD so keep tuning in! XP ^^ …and click the review button below~ XD


	7. Just an Ordinary Morning

**Twins**

**AN:** I just started reading the manga of Detective Conan and it surprised me to find out that the first case there was a lot similar to the case in my chapter 6.. O_O XD the killer (the husband), the fake injury, the climbing up the window (or something similar)… *whattashock XD* but I promise, I did no copy that! XD hahaha! Anyways, here's chapter 7! ^o^ hope you enjoy it! ^^ By the way, I still do not own Detective Conan and I never will. XD

**Chapter 7: Just an Ordinary Morning**

"Aoko…"

The brownish-black-haired good-looking prince slowly walked closer to the bed found in the room he just entered. He was wearing an all-white outfit with a blue long-sleeve shirt underneath and a white cape flowing gracefully from his shoulders. Though the scene looked very pleasant – the princess, wearing a white gown with light blue linings and ribbons, was sleeping peacefully on the bed curtained with powder blue silk fabric and sprinkled with white and red rose petals – worry and shock was evident on his face. His mind was swirling with thoughts on what to do, how this thing happened, who could have possibly done this to her and questions of similar concern.

As he was just half-a-meter away from the bed, his feet quickened their pace and he was there, kneeling down next to the bed of his motionless princess.

"Aoko…" He shook her lightly in his attempt to wake her up, but nothing happened. Her sleeping face was calm, her breathing did not change and her hands remained clasped together resting on top of her stomach.

"Darn… Had I arrived a bit earlier, this wouldn't have happened to you." He shook her shoulders a little more forcefully. "Aoko." Upon getting no response at all, he clenched his fists, stood up in an instant and punched the wall beside him, his head tilted down and his eyes tightly closed.

All of a sudden, a strong light came into the room from the window behind him that even with his eyes closed, he could sense it. He turned around to see a familiar beautiful, long-haired fairy – a four-inch tall fairy, wearing a pink fairy dress and floating in air because of her pink flapping wings. She called to him, waving the wand-like thing in her hand to call his attention. "Kaitou ouji-sama!"

"Ran," he whispered upon recognition. He showed her his serious but still gentle eyes as a reply. Seeing determination flaming up in these blue orbs, the little fairy spoke with her dazzling petite voice. "You don't have to blame yourself, Kaitou ouji-sama. I know how to wake the princess up."

"How?" he quickly asked, stepping closer to the little creature automatically.

She flew towards the bed and stood on the princess' hands. Kaitou followed, his eyes glancing onto the princess and then back to the fairy. "What should I do? Tell me," he asked, obviously getting impatient.

"The prophesy says that the person who could defeat the dragon is also the one who could break the spell cast upon the one who wore the glass slippers and fell into a deep eternal slumber," the fairy explained. "Aoko ojou-sama is a victim of that spell because the witch made her wear those glass slippers, saying that wearing it would grant her love an immeasurable strength. She wore it for you, Kaitou ouji-sama!"

"Aoko no baka…" he whispered, his lips curved into a faint smile. "She shouldn't have done that."

"Now, all you have to do is to kiss her and she will wake up. That's simply the solution," declared the adorable little fairy, flying in circles above the princess as she became excited.

"Kiss her?" Kaitou repeated. He stared at the princess' face and swallowed a lump in his throat before he leaned in closer to her. _'I've never done this before but I will do anything just to bring you back to life…'_ Just when he was merely an inch away from the princess' lips, the room turned pitch black and he heard a small scream, making him turn around immediately. "Ran, what happened?" He tried his best to see in the dark but to no avail.

"Kaitou ouji-sama!" yelled the fairy as she struggled from being held by a firm hand. The grip on her whole body tightened, causing the poor little thing to have a hard time breathing. "T-tasu—tasukete, ouji-" Before she could complete her sentence, and before Kaitou could make a move, the fairy lost consciousness and the owner of the hand gripping her laughed with his manly voice. The strikes of lightning that followed were the only way Kaitou recognized who this person was and what he just did.

"So a fairy could only last 20 seconds of not breathing," the young man cloaked in black said, amusement evident in his voice. He laughed once again, causing the prince to be more irritated as he clenched his fists.

"Shinichi! You traitor! So you were behind this after all!" Prince Kaitou exclaimed as he stood up, facing the one who looked exactly like him. "How could you do this to us? We're one family and-"

"Family? What's that?" the black-cloaked lad laughed once more. "I don't remember having one." He slipped the unconscious little fairy into a pocket on his left chest and then put his hands inside his pants' pockets as he walked closer to Kaitou, who by that time, gripped the sword on his left and posed his stance.

"Oh, I thought you were treating me as a family? Why are you preparing your sword?" Shinichi mocked as he continued to calmly pace towards Kaitou. With the stillness of the night, his footsteps were so much audible and daunting as if there was a tick-tock clock that counts the remaining seconds of one's life.

"I don't know what you're planning but if you hurt my princess, I will forget that you were once my twin brother," Kaitou stated in a confident tone as he drew out his sword and pointed it to Shinichi.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt anyone," replied the black-cloaked lad, smirking. He lightly pushed Kaitou's sword aside with his left hand and continued coming close to him. Arriving to a stop, he said, "I'm just here to wake you up." His last words echoed in Kaitou's ear, as though a spell was trying to hypnotize him. "Wake up~ Wake up~"

Kaitou groaned and fell on his knees, dropping his sword and cupping his aching head in the process. "Stop it!"

When he finally opened his eyes, he wasn't in the dark castle room anymore but in his bedroom, seating on his soft white bed. He blinked twice, hands still on the sides of his head. He heard a familiar chuckle, making him realize everything and drop his hands onto his sides.

"What the—What are you doing here?" he quickly asked the chuckling Shinichi.

"Aoko~ I will do anything to protect you~" the latter mocked, doing some hand gestures to support the act. "I would even kill my brother for you~"

"Shut up," Kaitou rolled his eyes away from Shinichi but a smile escaped his lips and his detective brother noticed that.

"You really love her more than your twin, how could you!" Shinichi whined and then tried to stifle his laugher.

"Shut up!" was the same reply from his brother. "Why are you here?" he asked, changing the subject as he turned to check the clock on his bedside table.

"Kid must cook breakfast. I'm here to wake him up." Shinichi grinned.

Kaitou examined his twin's appearance. Shinichi's hair was a mess; he was still on his blue pajamas with its shirt partly unbuttoned. _'This guy must really be hungry…' _The blank and bleak look he threw him made Shinichi wonder, "What?"

"I don't want to cook," Kaitou simply stated, lying down on his bed, turning his back on his brother and cuddling a pillow as he closed his eyes.

Shinichi whined and shook him annoyingly. "I'm hungry."

"You have to learn to cook for yourself."

"I know some simple stuff like eggs, hotdogs, bacon – but breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it must be a good one." The older one chuckled. "And besides, you should use your talents to serve others, especially those in need."

"You call yourself in need?" Kaitou turned his head around a little to show Shinichi his raised brow.

"No, I call myself 'others', hahaha!" was the latter's answer.

The younger lad turned his face away again and stuck it under the pillow he was cuddling. Though his voice was muffled, his brother heard him say, "You disrupted my dream. Now you must suffer the consequences."

"Eh? I even spared you from killing me in your dream. You should be thankful for that." Shinichi went on with shaking his brother's back, causing the sleepy one to get more and more annoyed.

"If you hadn't entered my dream in the first place, I would have kissed Aoko and have a happy ending with her."

"Mou~ was that my fault?" Shinichi's pout was turning into a slight smile.

Kaitou, meanwhile, uncovered his face and rested it on the pillow he was cuddling and accused, without bothering to turn around, "And you called me Kid so early in the morning. You know how much I don't want to be called like that." His tone hinted that he was just lazy and was just a little bit annoyed.

"Huh? Last time I called you Kid and you didn't mind it. Some of your friends also called me Kid when I was you."

"Well today's an exception."

Shinichi smirked at Kaitou's quick answer. "Wait, where did that name come from again? Why did they start calling you Kid?"

"I don't remember."

"Ah, I remember. It was in your band, right? First battle of the bands you joined back in junior high." Shinichi had a hand cupping his chin as he tried to remember more details.

"No…" was Kaitou's long-said lazy reply, as if his denial would work on his twin.

"Ah!" Shinichi snapped his fingers and smiled brightly. "The registration! You suggested the band name K.I.D.!"

Kaitou forcefully covered his revealed left ear with the pillow he was holding and covered the right with the pillow he was laying his head on.

"You blurted it out, out of nowhere, and the registration person who was in a hurry wrote it, leaving you guys with no choice. Since then, it became your permanent band name and they started calling you Kid because you think like a kid." Shinichi laughed.

"Tsk." Kaitou uncovered himself and sat up to face Shinichi. "It's way smarter for a mere child to think of an idea like that. I derived that from our names – Kaitou, Izumi, Ichiro and Daigo. K-I-D!"

"That's the childish part actually." Shinichi's laughter turned louder.

"Hmph!" Kaitou rolled back to his previous position, pouting.

Shinichi then dived onto the bed and annoyed his brother some more by shaking him, tickling him, bouncing on the bed, and all the while, calling him Kid and laughing after each call.

"Kudo Shinichi, you're a major annoyance!" said the younger twin when he has had enough. In an instant, he was able to push his brother to fall from the bed, but Shinichi remained in his laughing state that the fall didn't matter.

Kaitou stood up and grabbed a towel from his cabinet.

Shinichi then stopped laughing and said, "Hey, you're going to take a bath before you make my- our breakfast?"

"Yeah, and you can't do anything about it," Kaitou replied smugly, obviously getting back at his twin.

"Mattaku," the semi-scowling semi-smiling Shinichi muttered when his brother left.

#######

The twins prepared themselves for this normal morning. They have decided to go back to their proper places at school since the music practical exams are now over and there are no more reasons for them to switch.

One of the customary things between the two, however, is the Thief vs. Detective games they do once in a while. Kaitou plays the role of the thief, the challenger, the problem maker. Shinichi acts as the detective he really is – solving problems, engaging himself in mysteries and challenges his brother would make.

For instance, this morning, Kaitou handed over a piece of paper to Shinichi when the latter sat at the dining table.

"What's this?" asked the older one, flipping the small paper in his hand.

"If you don't solve it, you won't have breakfast." Kaitou grinned at him evilly.

"Uwaa! How mean!" Shinichi grunted.

Kaitou merely shrugged as he left the table side and went to the stove. "I'm going to make a very sumptuous breakfast so if you don't solve that, not only your detective pride would be damaged, but also your heart for food," he said in a pitying but teasing tone. "Wahahahaha!"

"Tsk, meanie," Shinichi smirked before focusing on the paper he had. It was a rectangular small piece of paper, but with single spike-shapes at the middle of each side. _'Is this just for design – dinosaur, puffer fish, hedgehog theme – or…?'_ There was a number combination of ones and zeros on the front side; the back side was empty. _'Binary number, huh?'_ He smirked. The paper actually contained the number 1111101011001110011000000000. _'There are 110's but I doubt that it meant SOS._

(Note: in Japan, their '911' or emergency hotline is 110.)

'_If I would convert this to another form – decimal perhaps, maybe I could get something…'_ He looked around for a paper and a pen but immediately found them lying on the table in front of him, Kaitou must have placed it there when he gave him the challenge.

'_There's this method – what's it called again – sum of weights method? Anyway, I should multiply each digit to their corresponding weighs which are actually powers of 2. Shimatta, there are 28 digits! Since it's binary – having the base 2, I would have to find out 2 raised to 0 up to 2 raised to 27!'_ He smiled grimly to himself. _'Oh yeah, whatever those powers of 2 are, when I multiply 0 to them, they won't count. So there are only 13 1's to consider… The first one should be multiplied to 2 raised to uhm – zero one two three four five six seven…' _He counted from the rightmost side of the number, wanting to identify when the first number 1 occurs. _'Nine! The first one is the tenth digit so I should multiply it to 2 raised to 9, and that would be hm…'_ He counted with his fingers from six to nine._ '64, 128, 256, 512!' _He listed the said number 512 and proceeded to identifying the next ones. _'The next 1 is the 11__th__ digit so I should multiply it to 2 raised to 10 and that is 1024. The next 1's are the 14__th__, 15__th__ and 16__th__ digits, so those are 2 raised to 13, 14 and 15. That would be 8192, hmm 16384, and uhm, 32768.'_ As he said each answers, he listed them down legibly on the left side, opposite to the quick and scribbled multiplications he had written on the right.

'_So the next ones are the 19__th__ and 20__th__ digits and that would be 2 raised to 18 and 19.' _He scribbled some more, ending up with _'262144 and 524288.'_

"Crap, this is getting to my nerves." He chuckled then looked to his left. "Hey, couldn't I use a calculator?"

"Nope, of course," replied Kaitou. "It wouldn't be as challenging if you would use a calculator." He chuckled.

Shinichi smiled half-heartedly at him. "If it were a real scenario and I had to solve something like this, I could use a calculator, you know."

"Too bad it isn't." The younger one smirked at him before turning back to the pan he was holding. "Hahaha! I really enjoy seeing my brother bewildered with my puzzles."

"Not for long," replied the confident Shinichi as he turned back to his multiplications. _'Okay, so what's next? Hmm, the 22__nd__ 1, that would mean 2 raised to 21, giving me…2097152. And the remaining 1's are the 24__th__ up to the 28__th__. That's 2 raised to 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27. Alright, I'm almost done.' _He scribbled some more on his scratch paper before coming up with _'8388608, 16777216, 33554432, 67108864, and 134217728.'_

He massaged the back of his neck. _'Whew, now all I have to do is to add these numbers that I've got. Adding these 13 numbers would give me…'_ It took him just a minute and a half to get _'262989312.'_

His brow rose automatically. _'Now what's so special about this number? Hmm… Could it be an address or a contact number of some sort…' _He scratched his head, irritated. _'What does this mean…?'_

As he tapped his pen on the table, the small piece of challenge paper flew a little to the left, and now it wasn't lying on the scratch paper anymore but on the table. As Shinichi's eyes followed its movement, the final sight struck him with a very brilliant idea. _'Sixteen sides! Crap! Why didn't I consider that earlier? This paper, with its four supposedly rectangular sides divided into two because of the spikes in the middle of each, plus the four two-sided spikes themselves gives me 16 sides. Heh! You want me to convert it into hexadecimal don't you?' _He glanced at the busy Kaitou.

(Note:hexadecimal – number system of base 16)

From that time on, he got too engrossed with his computations. He quickly turned his scratch paper around to start over with a new solution. _'I've read this from one of Agasa-hakase's books about logic. In converting a binary number into its hexadecimal form, the shortcut I learned was to divide the binary number into groups of four bits, starting from the least significant bit which is the rightmost.'_

(Note: Bits – binary digits)

'_Each group would correspond to a single hexadecimal digit. I just have to multiply to each bit per group their respective weights – 2 raised to 0, 2 raised to 1, 2 squared and 2 cubed, that is, 1, 2, 4 and 8.' _He started copying the number from the challenge paper and dividing them into groups. He ended up with:

1111/1010/1100/1110/0110/0000/0000

'_Alright, the two groups on the right have all digits zero, so that would be 00 in hex. Two down, five to go!' _He lightly slapped his own forehead. _'I should have thought of this earlier._

'_Anyway now, the third group from the right consists of 0110. That's…' _He wrote (0x8) + (1x4) + (1x2) and (0x1)_ '…which gives me 4 plus 2, equal to 6!' _He smiled, knowing he could win against this problem any moment now. 'Now I have 600.'

'_The next group, 1110, that's hmm, 8 plus 4 plus 2 and that's 14. But in hexadecimal there are only 16 digits that consists this whole number system. That's zero to nine and then letters represent the next values: A for 10, B for 11, C for 12, D for 13, E for 14 and F for 15. Hence, the next digit I'll have is E.' _He wrote at the bottom of the scratch paper E600. _'Could this be a serial number of a product or so?'_

He continued with the remaining nibbles. _'Ah, yeah, 4 bits is a nibble, hehe…'_ He found himself enjoying the activity now. But then his stomach grumbled. _'I must hurry or my stomach's gonna be angry with me.' _He chuckled to himself before turning serious again.

'_The next nibble is 1100. That's 8 plus 4, 12!' _He wrote the letter C and now he's got CE600. _'For the next, it's 1010, 8 plus 2, that's 10, which in hex is A._

'_Only one more left, 1111. That's the maximum value a hex digit could have – having all bits as 1. That's 15 or should I say F.'_

He sighed and thought, _'I really should have done this earlier; this is so much easy compared to the one I did a while ago, stupid, stupid.' _Even if he was extraordinary enough, having known such things and being able to finish multiple-liner mathematical computations in a matter of seconds, he still calls himself stupid. That is how conceitedly humble Kudo Shinichi is.

He then looked at the final answer on his paper – FACE600.

"FACE 600?" he mumbled to himself. _'FACE could mean face as in an order to look at or turn to something or to a certain direction. If that's the case then FACE600 means to face 600, but where is that 600?' _Out of habit, he cupped his chin. _'600…'_

'_Wait a sec.' _This young Sherlock of the Japanese Hei Sei generation suddenly remembered something. _'Sometimes, people use hours in telling directions, referring to the position of the hands of the clock. So this 600 could mean 6:00 or 6 o'clock. And if I were to face my 6 o'clock that's…'_

Shinichi turned around only to be greeted by a loud "pop!" sound.

After following with his eyes some confetti that fell scattered on the ground, Shinichi turned to face the person holding a hand-size party popper. "Congratulations, brother! You have solved Kaitou's Puzzle No. 16!"

It took some 10 seconds of stillness between the two before Shinichi halfheartedly smiled and spoke, "Your weird challenge made me hungrier."

"Here you go, smart little runt." Kaitou messed his twin's hair and handed him a tray of breakfast complete with soup, curry rice, mango shake, and a banana.

"Yey, curry rice!" Shinichi grabbed the tray, turned around to face the table and muttered "Itadakimasu" before starting his full course meal.

Kaitou, on the other hand, went to the other side of the table smiling. He placed his food there and sat down to eat as well.

"Hey, Kai-chan," Shinichi called, partly teasing because of using Kaitou's childhood nickname.

"Yes, Shin-chan?" Kaitou shot back with a smirk.

"Why did you want me to face my 6 o'clock?" he stated out his curiosity. "Was it just one of your creative ways in serving breakfast?"

"Nah, it's about the party popper. I've always wanted to pop one in your face." With that said, the younger twin laughed and the older one raised a brow as his lips formed a weird smile.

#######

To be continued

#######

**Author's Notes:**

Hi there everyone! ^^ thanks for reading up to this part n_n this chappie was supposed to be the whole day in the story but it turned out that the early morning Kaitou-Shinichi part was long enough for a chapter. So I decided to cut it up to here and just continue the day on chapter 8. ^^ I had sort of a free time today because we have just finished the first exams in school. And the mathematical/logic part in this chapter was inspired by one of my subjects. XD –just sharing– ^^ I hope I was able to explain adequately the things Shinichi knew about number systems and conversions. ^_^

The curry rice idea came from the episode Chinatown De Ja Vu in the Rain where Conan acted childish and craving for curry rice just to make Ran go home because she was sick. =P he was REALLY cute back then! ^o^

Alkyone, sorry I wasn't able to reply to your last message. When I read that, it was on one of my cramming days, so ehehe… ^_^;;

Hope you guys liked this. ^^ thanks again! ^o^

Review review~ *winks* =D please? *puppy eyes* hehehe! XD

PS: Kaitou-kun left a challenge and told me to give it to you. XD it was a paper – the same sixteen-sided one – with this written on it: 101111101101

Clue you ask? It's something soft that we all probably have. XD anyone who solves this code would get a price from Kaitou-sama and Shinichi-sama. XD \(^o^)/

Till next time folks! ^^


	8. Back to Normal?

**Twins**

**AN: **sorry for the VEeeeeeRY late update ^_^ it took me too loooooong to finish this chappie.. hope you like it! ^.^

**Chapter 8: Back to Normal?**

The sun was already resting on the clouds beaming vitamin D to anyone it sees. The ever graceful Kudo twins were walking to school and unintentionally spellbinding any female form on their way. They were in their usual blue uniform, complete with the coat and tie, and both of them had their bag slung by a hand behind their shoulder.

"Hey." Shinichi broke the silence.

"Hm?" Kaitou was apparently in a good mood.

"You like Nakamori, right?" Shinichi was hesitating a bit; he didn't know how or where to start.

"Yeah. Why'd you ask?" Kaitou's calmness instantly turned to worry and panic as his eyes grew. "Don't tell me… you like her too?"

"No, no." The older twin chuckled. "I was just wondering… If you like her that much – I mean, as much as wanting to switch places with me just to be with her – why don't you tell her about it? You know, make a move, confess or something. Knowing you, I believe you could do it that easily."

Kaitou shook his head slowly. "I don't want to confess yet." He flashed a gentle smile as he looked at the azure sky. "I just want to be friends with her first."

"Then why aren't you making friends with her with your own real self?" Shinichi raised a brow at his brother. A smirk then came forth, when he said, "Maybe you really haven't gotten over your Ran, huh?"

Kaitou quickly turned to him to say, "No, no!" He chuckled as he continued, "That's not it. I just don't want to haste things up." His chuckle faded and was replaced by another gentle smile. "I want to know her more; she's a bit mysterious to me, you know."

"Then you should do that as Kaitou," Shinichi replied lazily, a yawn coming afterwards.

"Well, I thought if you two could be friends at first, you could then introduce me to Aoko and bridge us two later on. Wouldn't that be a great love story?" The younger one grinned.

"What? Bridge?"

"Why, don't you think it's good? You better be honored, I chose you to be in that 'bridge' role, you know!" Kaitou crossed his arms.

"I don't have to do that. Who in school doesn't know you anyway?" Shinichi pointed out.

"No, what I mean is personal formal introduction sort of…" The younger one was now fiddling with his fingers due to slight shyness. "It's really different from just knowing me from afar, believe me…"

Shinichi looked as his brother from the corner of his eyes. Seeing the shy look his twin was wearing, he couldn't help but smile evilly.

"And besides," Kaitou added, "Aoko doesn't like talking to strangers. I noticed that when I was with her and even before. Unless needed, she doesn't talk with people she's not friends with. She would find it really weird if I suddenly confess to her." He chuckled. "She might even think I'm her stalker."

"Well, are you not?" Shinichi teased.

"Of course not! A stalker is different from an admirer," Kaitou defended, crossing his arms again.

Shinichi just laughed at his brother's mixed facial expression – he was partly blushing, partly angry, and partly confused.

"Besides, when I confess to Aoko, I want it to be extravagant. Girls cherish those moments, so for Aoko, I would make it really unforgettable to the details." Kaitou had his left hand raised in front of his eyes as he pictured his ideas.

"A confession is not a marriage proposal, brother," Shinichi stated flatly.

"It doesn't matter; they convey the same message anyway." Kaitou laughed before looking up dreamily to the sky. "I would find out what she likes, what her dream romantic scene is, and things like that."

Shinichi made a doubting face, saying, "Woot, you have a lot of reasons. I bet you're just afraid of getting rejected." He laughed when Kaitou showed a struck-with-realization face.

The latter recovered easily and defended himself, stuttering a bit, "O-of course not! Who would ever reject Prince Kaitou?" He flashed a confident smirk to overcome his own self doubts that are starting to form.

"You said it yourself, Aoko is different from all the other girls." Shinichi chuckled again.

"Hmph! But still…" The younger one didn't know what to say anymore. His mind is starting to swirl with confusion or fear he never had before.

Shinichi tilted his head to look at his brother's face more closely. "What? You're giving up now?"

Kaitou smirked. "Baka, you know me. I don't give up that easily. You're like that too."

Shinichi looked ahead and a smirk also formed on his lips. "Well, we're twins, that's why."

Kaitou sighed and rested his arms behind his head. "But you know, I couldn't refrain from acting as my true self when I'm with her. My dignity in disguising is getting tampered!"

"What?" Shinichi reacted. "You mean you're being giddy-giddy Kaitou with her with my appearance?"

"No, no, of course I'm still cautious." Kaitou grinned sheepishly.

"You dope, she would think I'm weird if I suddenly don't act like you did these past days," Shinichi said, though not actually bothered with the thought.

"Ehehe…" Kaitou just kept on showing his brother his sheepish grin plus a peace sign with his fingers.

"Tsk." Shinichi rolled his eyes away from his twin as a reply as he put his hands in his pockets.

#######

Kaitou heaved a sigh.

He was in his classroom, standing at the back side, staring through the window. He was early for his first class so he had the time to think about things while waiting for his teacher to arrive.

'_Should I really do that? But I don't want things to be hasty. It's fun to just go with the flow once we're friends. But now that Shinichi said that… am I… just afraid? No! I'm not and I shouldn't be!-"_

"Kaitou! Ohayou!"

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar female voice. He turned around to see whom he expected. "Ran!" He smiled enthusiastically upon greeting her. His arms quickly wrapped around her head and he ended up cuddling her randomly, saying, "I missed you, Ran!"

"Huh?" Ran smiled but still felt awkward. "Why, you just haven't seen me for uhm," she counted, "Fourteen hours at most, I guess."

He set her free as he thought, _'Oh yeah, I was in my music practicals yesterday. But what can I do, just a few days of not being with her makes me miss her already. And yesterday I was too distracted to realize I'm finally back.'_

He smiled sheepishly and tried to make an excuse. "Well, I dreamt of you and you were a cute little pink fairy." He laughed after showing with his fingers how little that was. "And then Shinichi, the evil twin brother in my dream, grabbed you till you couldn't breathe and lost consciousness."

Ran's eyes widened. "Scary…"

Kaitou lightly bumped her shoulder with his. "Wushoo, it's Shinichi, it shouldn't be scary."

"Baka." She glared at him but a smile was still naughty enough to escape her lips.

"What's in this?" Kaitou changed the subject when he noticed the newspaper she was holding. He took it from her hand and flipped a few pages, scanning for something interesting.

"Your twin, he solved another case yesterday while you were in the CR!" Ran blurted out with enthusiasm. She then guided Kaitou through the newspaper to show him the article she read.

Kaitou's forehead creased. _'CR? What an excuse, Shinichi! Don't tell me you told her you had indigestion?'_

"Here it is!" Ran interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah yeah, he told me about that," Kaitou replied coolly after reading the headline.

"Dad told me about it but I didn't know he was referring to Shinichi when he said he was defeated by a young detective punk." She giggled.

Kaitou merely smiled. "Actually, Shinichi knew the victim's family. She was a relative of his junior high friend."

"Uwaa, really?" Ran frowned. "He must have felt sad then…"

Sensing anxiety uprising from his companion, Kaitou quickly tried to console Ran. "Don't worry, he's alright now. He was indeed affected by it yesterday but I assure you, he's as cheerful as ever this morning." He recalled how his brother woke him up and all the teasing they had. _'Indeed, he's alright now.' _He smiled grimly.

"Oh, then I'm glad to hear that." Ran showed her gentle smile. Her expression then shifted to confusion. "Something's bothering me, though. It says here," she lifted the newspaper, "that the crime occurred around 8:30am yesterday, and then it was solved that morning. How was that possible? Did Shinichi escape from school to solve the case?"

'_Darn it, that guy… if this news spreads in school, 3-A people will wonder how I- err, he was able to do that, being in two places at the same time…'_

"Ne, Kaitou?" Ran tilted her head and looked at him more closely. "Kaitou?"

"Uh. He uhm…" Kaitou was obviously startled. "He solved the case through phone, that's right! Megure-kebu called him and gave him the details. Then during class, he was trying to figure out who the killer was, and when he found out, he sent a mail to the inspector that contained his deduction." Kaitou smiled. In his mind, he was grinning proudly. _'Yeah! Now those who saw me using my phone yesterday during class would be witnesses for this alibi. I'm really good in making a crime.' _He chuckled to himself.

"You mean, he explained everything – the identity of the killer, the evidence, the trick – through mail?" Ran's eyes were growing with awe.

Kaitou nodded crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned his back on the window. "That's what he told me."

"Wow, cool!" Ran jumped with amazement. "Even detective work is made easier by technology."

Kaitou just nodded once more, his smile confident.

"But then…" She showed him her dubious look again, "Dad told me he remembered the face of that 'detective punk'." She gestured quotation marks. "How did he-"

"Shinichi went to the crime scene during lunch break, I think, or after his class," Kaitou quickly covered, not losing his coolness.

"Oh…" Ran smiled. "He's really cool isn't he?"

Kaitou looked at her straight to the eyes and slowly smiled, making her realize what she just said and blush automatically. "I- I mean-"

"Cut it out, I know you more than anyone else, Ran," the lad said while smiling intensely. He walked towards his seat and she followed him.

She tried thinking of something else to say to drive her redness away. "I just think it's sort of weird or super coincidental." Having gotten an idea, she giggled before continuing as Kaitou faced her. She remained standing while he sat on his desk, his long legs resting slantwise towards the floor and his arms crossed yet again in front of his chest.

"I noticed that whenever you're in a not so good situation, your twin is in a very good one," Ran went on, "For instance, yesterday, you were having trouble with your tummy while he's there earning fame and closing another case. The other day, you were sick and so grumpy while your brother was so lively, as what his classmates said, and he was more active than usual that time. Are twins really like that? Balancing each other out?" Ran giggled some more. "It looks to me like you are the unfortunate one between the two of you."

"Sheesh, what kind of an idea is that?" Kaitou snapped. He looked slightly affected but was still trying to convince her with his confidence. "Of course there's no yin yang stuff like that in twins. They're all just beliefs. All those things happened by coincidence."

"Really huh?" She smirked and crossed her arms.

Kaitou then had the urge of getting back on her. "What is more possible is that a clumsy helpless girl would always be a clumsy helpless girl no matter how older she gets."

"What?" Ran raised a confused brow at him.

Kaitou laughed. "Last Monday, I had to help you again in the rain. It was just like before when you slipped on a puddle and fell, getting your skirt all wet. Tsk, you never change do you?" He laughed manically.

"Hey! I didn't slip on a puddle this time! And I'm not always that clumsy. It only happened once." She pouted.

"Really huh?" He smiled smugly, sticking his nose closer to her, and then laughed again.

She scowled but couldn't help but slightly smile at how her friend was acting. "I told you to forget about that."

"How can I forget that, it was when I met you," he said in between chuckles. "The time when I met helpless girl…"

"Mou~" She continued pouting though he chose to ignore it and keep on laughing. Kaitou knew that no matter how much he teases Ran about that event, she wouldn't be seriously angry with him. He knew that deep inside her, she cherished that oddly special moment and he felt the same way towards it.

#######

"Are you sure you want to come with me to the faculty room? I can carry all these by my self anyway," Ran asked Sonoko and Nejiko, glancing at each of them, who were on her sides.

The three girls were carrying stacks of papers and were walking on the third floor hallway. Ran was asked by their English teacher and class adviser, Ms. Jodie Starling, to collect her classmates' reaction papers and bring it to her desk in the faculty room. Apparently, her friends Sonoko and Nejiko came along with a hidden agenda.

"It's okay, Ran. This isn't much of a hassle anyway," replied the short-haired Nejiko before having an eye contact with Sonoko and giggling with her.

"Don't worry Ran, we're not planning something," was Sonoko's assurance, followed by a devilish smile.

Ran, on the other hand, wore a worried expression, saying, "Geez, I hope it's not something about a guy again…"

"I hope he's not a samurai type of guy," Sonoko muttered.

"No, I heard he's an athletic type," replied Nejiko. "He was a swimmer in college, I heard."

"Really? Then that means he has an awesome body~" Sonoko dreamily assumed.

Ran noticed that the two, who were behind her already, were not listening to her and were busy guessing how the new male teacher looked like. "Sheesh, I thought so." She sighed.

"Now now, what's with that attitude, Ran?" It was unbelievable for the latter that Sonoko noticed the sigh she just gave out. "Aren't you interested in that Nishikado-sensei they have all been talking about?"

"Nah…" Ran replied. "I've got more important things to worry about."

"Tsk, you're so loyal to your husband Ran," Sonoko stated a bit lazily.

"Yeah," Nejiko simply seconded.

"Husband?" Ran's head tilted sideways. "Who's my husband?"

"Who else?" said Sonoko.

Nejiko was the one who ended the statement, "We all know it's Kudo-kun."

"K-k-ku—" Ran instantly flushed. "You know Shinichi and I are not yet married, how could you guys say that?" The naïve girl chuckled uneasily.

"Baka~" uttered Sonoko.

"We mean Kudo Kaitou-kun~" said Nejiko, making Ran froze as she muttered "Oh."

The two girls just laughed seeing Ran blush more fiercely. "Cut it out! That Kaitou is not my husband!" the latter exclaimed.

Just then, three sophomore girls came running and passed by them, screaming "Nishikado-sensei is in 1-A!"

Having heard of this, Sonoko and Nejiko placed the papers they were holding on top of Ran's and quickly headed to the direction where the three girls went, screaming, too, out of excitement.

Taken by surprise, Ran, on the other hand, had a hard time balancing the papers on her hands. Eventually they fell scattered to her feet.

"Mou~ How could they just leave me like that?" She sighed before bending down to pick up the scattered ones. "Oh well, I guess Kaitou's right, I really am a helpless girl…"

All of a sudden, she heard someone chuckle. "He really said that?" a familiar voice asked. She lifted her head a bit to see a hand picking up some of the papers she dropped. Her heart started to pound as she slowly recognized the person she was facing, who by then spoke again. "How could someone be helpless if there's someone like me to help her?"

Ran's pulse raced as full recognition came to pass. She couldn't believe that of all people, he would be the one in front of her at the very moment, smiling tenderly and looking at her in the eyes. "Shinichi…"

The girl couldn't help but dreamily stare at him, cherishing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look at him this close. As seen from her eyes, which were merely a few inches away from his, the background blurred and imaginary sparkles were emphasizing the prince in her front. It would have lasted a bit longer if it weren't for Shinichi snapping her back to reality. "Hey…"

"Ah! Shin- er, K-kudo-kun… I'm sorry." She stuttered as she quickly turned away from his eyes and went on to recollecting the papers.

The lad remembered who he was supposed to be today. _'Oh yeah… I hope she wouldn't find it weird if I suddenly come talking to her like this. Ehe~' _He continued picking up the papers as well, as he spoke, "You don't have to say sorry." He looked at her to show a smile; her eyes were caught by his, reluctantly.

Ran got stuck staring at him once again. She wasn't fully aware that she was savoring in her mind every detail of Shinichi.

'_Shinichi… His eyes are so blue and beautiful… His voice… it's like music to my ears… And his smile… it's… it's-'_

Like a dart pin hitting the bull's eye, she quickly realized what she was doing and flushed crimson as a result. A timid smile, however, managed to show itself up to Shinichi.

She hastened in getting the papers and stood up as soon as the floor is clean. Shinichi also stood up and looked at her carefully, faintly smiling as he did so, before handing out to her the papers he got.

Ran took the papers, bowed down a little and muttered, "Thanks," without looking at him in the eyes. Unconsciously tucking some wisps of her hair behind her ear, she thought and feared that if her eyes and his met again, she wouldn't be able to pull away and stop gawking at him. With her feet deciding on its own, she was about to walk past him when the school radio played its distinctive melody, signifying an announcement to come.

~_Attention all seniors. You have a batch assembly today at 3pm in the gym. Details about the school festival will be discussed so don't miss this one out. I repeat, seniors today at 3 in the gym_~

After the melody played again, Shinichi spoke, "I guess we'll see each other again later."

Ran merely smiled and lowered her head once more before walking towards her destination, her head angled down. Shinichi turned around to follow her with his eyes. He couldn't help but smile at what he was thinking. _'Just yesterday you were so insistent in making me confess to Nakamori… But now, you're very much out of your cheerful self in front of Shinichi.' _He giggled to himself before turning around towards where he was supposed to go.

#######

3pm came and all third year students were gathering in the gymnasium. Many were still entering the area, while others are already seated on the floor, grouped according to their sections.

When almost all were settled down, the batch president took charge and started the meeting. The advisers of each class were also there, seated in front, watching how the teens are going to manage the subject matter.

"Alright guys, we're here now to discuss the upcoming school festival," Tsujihara Minako, the president, started. "As we all know, it's part of Teitan High's tradition for seniors to conduct and participate in a play festival, where all classes are supposed to produce a play, either original or revival." Upon mentioning the phrase 'play festival', commotions were heard from the many excited students.

"This year, the board of student leaders, as well as our advisers, has come up with an idea of a tag team – that is, two sections will team up to produce a drama, summing up to just three plays, each being about 30 minutes to an-hour-and-a-half long." As expected, another commotion came out, before Minako continued, "This will be a contest, actually and Mrs. Fujiyama here has asked her colleagues to be the judges, so better give our best and show them what we've got!" A loud roar was then heard from the motivated students.

"By the way, the proceeds coming from the entrance fee for all the three shows will go to Beika Orphanage, so when it comes to selling the tickets, there's no competition as we are doing this for one cause, alright?" Minako gestured a thumb up. "Okay, so the teacher-in-charge of each section will also be their adviser for the play. Each team will have to choose a director, a stage manager, lighting crew and the like. The groupings and the order of presentation will be drawn here, so representatives of each class, please come forward and get a piece of paper from this box." She shook the small pink box she was holding.

One student from each section stood up and went to pick a paper. Kaitou being the president of class B showed to his classmates what he got – a paper with a heart drawn on it. He looked around to find a match, only to find out that the quiet girl beside him, the president of 3-A, was raising a brow at the paper she was holding, a paper with the same symbol drawn on it. "Jumping jelly beans! Aoko! It's true! I'm destined to be with you!" The lad didn't realize that he was shaking the girl with all his might, until she hit him with a giant paper fan that came out from nowhere. "Don't get too excited Kudou-kun," Aoko remarked, fixing her posture.

The drawing of lots turned out that 3-A and 3-B would pair up, as well as 3-C and 3-F, and 3-D and 3-E. It has been decided afterwards that the three groups would have a meeting separately to talk about their plan. With Kaitou's initiation, A and B would be discussing in class A's room.

Upon arrival, Ran was pulled by Kaitou towards a certain seat in the middle of the room. "What's with you teasing me this morning and then suddenly pulling me towards somewhere?" she muttered while being dragged.

Kaitou just smirked as a reply. After he had her seated on a particular chair, he placed a pen and a piece of blue scented paper on the desk. "What is this for?" Ran asked turning from the paper, to Kaitou, to the crowd heading inside the room, and then back to him. Kaitou, on the other hand, smirked again before leaving her puzzled as he went to the front where Aoko was standing.

Ran lifted the paper and smelled it a little. "I wonder where that guy gets these things in this kind of situation…" Surprised when Sonoko came to her front, Ran automatically hid the paper and pen she was holding under the desk. Sonoko didn't notice anything, as she was saying something she found out about Nishikado-sensei, but it was Ran who did so – she felt a pile of something gathered up in that desk compartment. She let her senses get a hold of what those things were, and when she was quite sure about it, she looked more closely proving that they really were "Envelopes?" She flipped one and her whole body froze. _'Sh-Sh-Shinichi?' _Instinct told her to check the other envelopes out only to find the same name written. _'You mean, this is… Shinichi's seat! How could I not realize it earlier? Kaitou you baka!' _She decided to look around to see if it would be a good idea to move to another seat, but unfortunately, the first person she glanced at was none other than Shinichi himself. This made her blush instantly.

'_He's not looking at you, don't worry.' _She told herself as she focused on the people speaking in front. _'Try not to look at him and pretend you didn't know that the seat you took was his. Everybody is not in their proper places anyway. Two sections are in here. And besides, guys should be gentlemen enough to lend their seat to the girls, shouldn't they? Yep, yep, that's right. Now calm down, Mouri Ran.'_

Shinichi, by chance, caught her battling with her thoughts. With just a single look, he could tell what was bothering her. The lad just saw himself smiling at how red and confused that familiar girl looked.

Meanwhile, one girl student suggested that the story written by her classmate from 3-B, Hayana Megumi, be the one they would perform. "She has written a lot of wonderful stories already, and one of those is the very romantic and heartwarming story of a princess and her long lost prince," she excitedly said. About seven more girls stood up and supported her idea, saying they have also read that story and it would surely be a big hit for a play.

Hence, it was decided that the story _The Prince's Melody_ will be performed by the two sections. Their advisers, Ms. Fujiyama and Ms. Jodie, then checked the printed copy of the said story.

As the discussion and planning went on, Ran forgot about the paper and pen she hid under the desk. It was mainly because of the shocking decision Ms. Fujiyama announced. "So this story has a musical part, eh? I suggest give Kudo Shinichi the lead role." With that said, every girls' eyes, except for Ran's, went big with excitement. Ran was more nervous than excited; she couldn't tell why.

Of course, Shinichi and Kaitou gave a quick reaction to this. Shinichi, known as the detective who flunks in music, would surely disagree to this idea. On the other hand, Kaitou had expected that the lead role would be given to him since, having read that particular story, he knew he was the best to fit the main character. The two were in an instant by Ms. Fujiyama's side, complaining.

"Why?~" the two chorused.

"You know that music is not my forte~" whined Shinichi.

"You know that I'm better than him~" Kaitou whimpered.

From their fan girls' point of view, however, the two were still as adorable as ever even though they were actually troubled.

"Shinichi, you played so well in the practicals. We even talked about this and you agreed, right?" reasoned the music teacher.

Upon hearing those, Shinichi quickly shot a betrayed glare to his brother. _'How could you!~ I didn't know anything about this…'_

Kaitou, as guilty as he was, shifted from complaining to an apologetic mode, grining sheepishly at his twin brother. _'I forgot about that, my bad~'_

The two ended up having a silent communication with just their eyes and facial expressions.

Shinichi: _Do something about this!_

Kaitou: _I'll try to, but I can't guarantee you what you want. You know her well, she's vicious!_

Shinichi: _Just try to, baka! I'll flagellate you from head to toe if you don't fix this mess at once!_

Kaitou: _I never knew you were capable of saying that, hahaha!_

The seemingly true and effective mind conversation ended when Ms. Fujiyama said, "Start practicing your voice and piano, Shinichi."

Kaitou butted in, "Sensei, I don't think my brother wants this role, look at him." He pointed towards the pitiful-puppy looking Shinichi, who were trying to convince her as well. "Why not just make me the prince? I'm more prince-looking anyway and besides, I've been singing and playing the piano longer than he does."

"That's exactly the point, my dear," she replied. "Your brother needs to be exposed. I saw the potential in him; he only needs to be encouraged."

"But you know how awful I sing, Sensei," Shinichi argued politely. "You've been my music teacher ever since." He was referring to the fact that Ms. Fujiyama formerly worked in Shinichi's Junior High School as a music teacher as well.

"Oh," she realized his point. She turned to the author of the story and received a reply, "Don't worry Sensei, the prince in the story just played the piano frequently, he didn't sing."

"Then that's good!" replied the music teacher. Ms. Jodie nodded smiling. She, too, was getting all excited about this.

"Shimatta," Shinichi muttered to himself.

"Can't we at least change the piano to violin instead, Sensei, Megumi-chan?" Kaitou asked the two, trying to save his brother with the remaining ways possible.

"I'm sorry Kudou-kun, the piano is a significant thing in the story, we can't just replace it with another musical instrument," the humble Megumi replied frowning.

Knowing that this girl has always been the timid type and is of less confidence in herself, Kaitou couldn't just ask for a change of story to perform. He was kind enough not to break the aspiring-writer heart of that girl.

"Honestly, Fujiyama-sensei, I'm not good in playing the piano," Shinichi stated.

"Who are you kidding Kudou Shinichi," the older teacher laughed. "Just have confidence in yourself, okay?" She tapped his shoulder before turning towards the class. "Who here agrees with me that Kudou Shinichi is the best suited for the lead role?"

95% of the students there raised their hands. The girls were screaming with glee, while some boys were just teasing Shinichi and others were just too lazy to oppose the mighty decision. Ran was one of those who didn't raise their hands. She saw how Shinichi refused the role and she believed he had a good reason for this. _'This might also get in the way of his detective career, I don't want him to have more stressors,'_ she thought.

But the crowd was more powerful than any of Shinichi, Kaitou and Ran. Kaitou still tried to help his brother out but before he could speak, Ms. Fujiyama told him, "I believe you are best for the props and stage setting, Kudou Kaituo-kun. I know the magic stuff that you do; those things will spice up the play even more. Imagine the piano suddenly popping out on the stage or the crown disappearing in an instant. It would be marvelous, wouldn't it?"

"But wouldn't it be better if the prince were the one doing the magic?" he reasoned. "Like popping out a rose for his princess, perhaps, or wiping her tears with a handkerchief that appeared in his hand with a blink of an eye."

"Kaitou-kun, this is a romantic play. It wouldn't be a good idea to make the prince a magician as it would reduce the drama incorporated in the story," she answered. It seemed not only to Kaitou and Shinichi but also to everyone that Ms. Fujiyama's decision is unbreakably final. All the former could do was to look apologetically to his brother.

"Just look at the brighter side, bro," Kaitou mumbled as they went back to their places. "At least it's not the whole school you're representing." He grinned sheepishly.

Shinichi merely sighed, but was still wearing a smile. Unbeknownst to all of them, this ignites a more complicated situation and a lot more trouble for the two.

## To be continued ##

**AN:** Tada!~ miss me? Just kidding =P I'm really sorry for making you wait for almost a year for this chapter ^_^ A lot of things have kept me sort of busy, hehehe... (sweatdrops) ^_^; Although this chappie has been about 80% complete a long time ago, I could think of a way to express the last part. I'm really glad to be back, though I'm not promising you more frequent updates from now on ^-^; =P I'll still do my best, though, for all of you, my beloved readers ^.~

Thanks to those who added this fic in their favorites list and alert list ^^ As well as those who gave a review, of course ^^ thaaaank youuuu~ \(^o^)/ All of you inspire me, hontou ni arigatou ^.^

Just like what Shinichi tells Ran in the anime series, _"Just wait for me…"_ hehe =P summer vacation is almost here, more time to write the next chapters ^^ Don't forget to click that _SUBMIT A REVIEW_ button, please. ^_^

**Next chapter…**

How will the twins resolve the problem regarding the lead role? Will Kaitou pull up some magic tricks from his sleeve or will Shinichi find the missing piece of the puzzle yet to come? Also, find out how a certain character gets jealous in the next chappie of~~ Twins! =P


	9. Roles

**Twins**

**Chapter 9: Roles**

"What?"

"What?"

"WHAT?"

"Kudo, stop going insane! You're over reacting!" Sonoko commanded the lad who almost pulled all of his hair off his head as he read the contents of a certain paper posted on the bulletin board by the stairs.

"Kaitou, Sonoko's right. You should calm down," advised Ran, though she, herself, was a bit uneasy about the situation. They walked their way towards their classroom.

"Calm down? How can I calm down when that smarty pants will be paired up with my Aoko? MY AOKO!" replied the lad, his veins popping out.

Sonoko answered him with a witchy laugh and said, "So you're mad at your twin now? Finally, no more Kudo twins, no more screaming-fan-girls filled mornings in school." She smirked while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Sonoko~" Ran's tone was more of a peacemaker.

They arrived at their classroom and headed towards Kaitou's seat, beside the window. Wanting to help lighten up his mood, Ran turned to Kaitou and said, "Maybe we could do something about this. Perhaps, you could talk to your brother to give you the role, or you could ask the director and other responsible people to give the lead female role to another girl." She smiled shyly, thinking her suggestions were not good. It suddenly came into her mind the thought of her playing the princess role with Shinichi as her prince. They were in a romantic scene – all their hands clasped together and their faces inching towards each other. Her face instantly went red as she shook the thought off her head.

"No~ I can't do anything about it! They're all against me!" The lad replied childishly before running to a corner. There he sat facing the walls, hugging his knees and poking the floor, a gloomy aura surrounding him.

Though worried, Ran couldn't help but smile at his immature actions.

It was already a week after the school play festival was announced. Screening and auditions were made in order to choose the appropriate characters for 3-A and 3-B's play. However, all the girls who applied for the princess role turned out to be exaggerated in delivering the lines and projecting their gestures. The fact that Heartthrob Twin #1 was the prince they were going to win was the biggest factor that caused this.

That was actually why the girl remaining silent at the side was chosen to be the princess. According to the playwright, she was the one who seemed to be best suited for the role. That time she didn't seem interested in the auditions and stuff as she looked more worried about something else. Her face showed pure concern and the way her eyes shifted from one focus to another would tell anyone that she was longing. It was in fact the emotion needed in the play – utmost yearning for a lost love. Without her knowing it, the playwright, the director and the advisers chose her.

Of course it also surprised Aoko to know that she would be the lead actress. She tried her best to convince them that she isn't fit for the role but the play management was too sturdy to sway. In the end, she had to give in for the sake of her best friend, the assistant director, and a junior high friend, Megumi the playwright.

On the other hand, the guy who was supposed to be happy about the news since he was Aoko's greatest fan turned out the most wretched.

"I hate my life~" Kaitou murmured as he continued pouting and poking the marble floor.

Kaitou and Ran were not actually left behind. They were in fact the heads of the props team, also known as the stage managers. Everyone knew how amazing Kaitou could be with his magic tricks and how resourceful and cost-effective Ran could be. They were even labelled as the creative duo when they got nominated to be the props team leaders.

Sonoko, on the other hand chose to stay with Ran. No one forgets how wealthy she is so she was very welcome to the props team.

The morning came to pass too quickly that it was already time for the first official practice for the play. Almost all A and B were in the gym – the actors were around the stage memorizing their lines, while the directors, advisers and props team were analyzing the stage, thinking of the appropriate decorations and props needed.

Shinichi was at the back stage. He was standing at a corner, kicking his soccer ball with his knee as he was memorizing the script in his hand. He looked straight ahead, neither at the ball nor at the 18-page manuscript he was holding.

'_The hell with this 18-page torture... Kaito, you are so going to die!'_

#######

"Ran nee-chan, I'm dying~" Kaito childishly pulled Ran's sleeve to get her attention and strangled his own neck, with his head swaying lifelessly with every movement.

Ran replied with a powerful poke on his forehead, saying, "What are you doing?" Her raised brows went down when she turned to the direction that the childlike Kaito was pointing. He looked like a baby who was about to cry as he pointed to Aoko at the far end of the area, reading the script.

Ran caressed his head like that of a dog. "Don't be sad Kaito-kun. Try to think of it this way: at least you can see Aoko act like a princess. You like it most, don't you?"

Enjoying the gentleness of her hand and her voice, the chibi Kaito smiled and nodded, without realizing why he did so. When Ran took her hand away, he returned to his whimpering, saying "This day is the start of my torment... The horror~ the turmoil~ the pain~" In no time, he was already by the wall, hitting his head rhythmically onto it. Good thing Sonoko was there to strike him with the instantly-appearing giant paper fan and bring him back to his senses. "To think I even thought once that you were cool~" She sighed wryly.

"Hey, you're right! The almighty Kaito is not someone who easily gets suicidal." He turned around only to see Aoko talking to Shinichi about something in the script. "...but then it's Aoko~ Aoko, my life, who is already with someone else~" He immediately turned back to his previous interaction-with-the-wall.

"You're hopeless," Sonoko muttered. Ran, on the other hand, chuckled at his actions and just hoped that he will be okay later.

Meanwhile, Shinichi's eyes were caught by the three. Though he was far from them, he saw how crazy his brother was, how Sonoko scolded Kaito, and how Ran enjoyed watching the two. A faint smile escaped his lips before he walked towards the back of the stage again.

As he tried to recall the sequence of his lines and think of the most appropriate gestures for each, Shinichi kept on kicking his soccer ball. Doing this helps him stay focused. He was, however, a bit bothered by the eyes that were at him. He knew about the presence of roughly 12 girls that were hiding in the area. But what disturbed his routine the most was when light suddenly flashed in the dim room he was in.

"I told you to turn off the flash!" He heard a girl scold someone as quietly as possible. "Sorry, I forgot that this was set on automatic," another girl whispered.

He couldn't help but smile as he shook his head slowly. _'These girls are really something...'_ He suddenly felt a sharp pair of eyes glaring at him. He looked around but was stopped when the director called for him.

Shinichi and Aoko then started the first scene together. They were supposed to be in a balcony setting, standing side by side, viewing the sunset.

"Sunsets are really sad, ne?" Aoko started. "It signifies the end of the day and it makes me feel somehow regretful."

"Well, in some ways it is quite sad..." Shinichi replied. "But if you're watching the sunset with someone very special to you, it becomes one of the most beautiful moments in your life." He looked at her and smiled, while she smiled back at him. Shinichi hesitated a bit but the script said he was supposed to hold her hand, and so he did. Before he could say his next line, he felt an intense glare, which made him look around to see where it was from.

"Kudo Shinichi, what are you doing?" Ms. Fujiyama exclaimed. "It was almost a perfect romantic scene; what were you looking for?"

"N-nothing." He forced a smile. "Can we take a break, sensei?"

"My my, we just started," Ms. Fujiyama reasoned, but Ms. Jodie tapped her back, telling her to let it be. "It was a good start; let's give them some time to get rid of the nervousness," the younger teacher said, smiling.

Ran and the props team were seated in a circle and were brainstorming about the things they have to work on. Kaito on her side was preoccupied watching the actors, or more like being a watch dog to Aoko, so he just nodded to everything they said. Ran took a glance of Shinichi as he was being taught by the director on how to make a certain scene better. She smiled and went back to listing the materials to buy. _'He really looks like a prince even without his costume... Too bad I'm here just to watch from afar.'_

'_I can't believe I'm letting this happen... She's so full of emotion there while I'm here, merely admiring her from afar.' _Kaito thought.

After more than an hour, the actors' practice was already finished and the props team was wrapping up their discussion. Shinichi stood close to them, waiting for his brother. Noticing this made Ran's heart race. He was right in front of her and she couldn't help but be nervous. She tried her best not to make an eye contact with him in fear of getting locked up with his eyes again.

"Ran, we'll buy the materials tomorrow and work with the easy ones at your house, okay?" Kaito decided. He hasn't noticed his brother since his back was turned at him.

"At m-my house? Err, okay," She stuttered.

Kaitou grinned; his hopes were now up after forgetting for a while that he didn't get the prince role. "I sort of miss Ochan and your cooking already. It made me jealous when you baked something for my-" His sentence was cut when he heard someone faked a cough.

"May I borrow my twin for a second?" Shinichi asked Ran politely, his smile almost melting her whole being.

No matter how much she tried, Ran couldn't manage to nod, so Sonoko spoke for her and pulled her out of the gym, leaving the twins.

Once they were alone, Shinichi gave a small piece of paper to his brother.

"What's this?" Kaitou didn't bother to look at the paper as he continued to glower at his brother.

Shinichi chuckled. "So that's how you get jealous?"

"Huh?"

"You hit your head on the wall, alternately act childish in front of someone and look fiercely at someone, and almost expose our secret to your bestfriend." He chuckled again before slinging his bag behind his shoulder and walking towards the exit. "Tomorrow, make sure you wear enough hair wax and exchange cell phones and IDs with me, okay?"

Kaito was about to realize what his brother meant but his curiosity led him to checking the piece of paper first. His eyes then grew wide with glee, saying, "Waiii~ Shin-chan really loves me!"

"Baka, don't be so full of it." Shinichi smirked.

"I'll always be in time, don't worry!" Now cheerful as ever, Kaito then put in his wallet that paper labelled as 'Rehearsal Schedules'.

#=====#

**AN: **Hello there, dear readers! ^.^ This chappie took longer than I thought, my apologies ^_^ But I'm really glad and thankful to all of you who are reading this fic, waiting for updates and giving reviews! ^o^ I hope you continue supporting Twins ^_^

In order to encourage reviews, I'm putting in a new segment called "Reply to the Reviewers"! =P Or at least greet them if I don't know what to say to them ^_^; Well, here it goes:

**Hanisakura and Lizzie07:** Here's the new chappy! ^^ sorry it took so long, ehehe... ^_^

**Alkyone:** You're right, Kaito's feelings towards Aoko is not that deep-rooted yet and he still acts sweet towards Ran, but in time he will confirm how he truly feels =P oh, I don't know if I told you this already but it's because of you that KaitoxAoko is already a major pairing in this fic, yay! ^.^ I have also thought of their story, but I hope you can deal with Aoko's character at start; she is quite different from the anime and manga. But that's just considering the fact that here, they aren't the best of friends yet so there's still a lot of room for development between them =P I'm happy that you are telling me your suggestions or what you expect from the future chapters ^_^ It gives me not only ideas but also encouragement ^.^

**X'brokenprincesz'X: **Sorry I won't be able to entertain your suggestion ^_^ this chapter revealed why. =D but don't worry, love not only blooms on the stage; it also flourishes through the props ;) hehehe :p

**Kaitogirl1412: **Is this chapter a cliffhanger again? Hehehe, peace ^_^ but hope you like it though =D

Thank you to all those who submitted a review and those who are planning to do so! ^.^ It's not that I'm so crazy about a review – no I'm not *in denial* – but it's just rewarding and it makes me happy to receive one, hehehe ^.^ I'm sure you know how it feels :p

Hope you enjoyed this chappie! ^^

Up next, a chapter like no other... a place never visited by Shinichi... a person that is not a stranger at all... and a gesture that's either just protective or already possessive... Find out when Chapter 10 arrives =D


	10. The Props

**Twins**

**Chapter 10: The Props**

"Irasshaimase!"

That loud greeting was heard after a chime sounded upon being hit by the door. It was followed by a lad in blue high school uniform entering the lumber shop.

"How may I help you, sir?" asked the middle-aged man who appears to be the owner of the store.

"Do you have something that we could use as props for a scene in a balcony? I mean, the railings and the veranda itself." The lad had to get his hand from his pocket in order to describe what he was talking about.

The man smiled and replied, "Just a minute sir, I know just the thing for that." He then went into the room behind the counter.

Instinctively, the lad decided to observe his surroundings a little while waiting.

'_This shop seems to be a little older than I thought... but the supplies in here are indeed plenty and-' _ His thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone suddenly rang.

"Kaito, you're in the wood shop already, right?" asked the girl on the other end of the line.

"You'd better be!" yelled another one from the background. "It's so crowded in here and we're dying to get the stuff we have to buy. Better do your job there well or else!"

He heard the first girl giggle and say, "Sonoko, you're being tough on him again~" She then turned back to the phone and said, "Ganbatte ne, Kaito-kun."

Before the lad could respond, the girls hanged up already. All he could do was to heave a sigh._'Those two... They even dare complain when I'm the one here who went to five different stores already to buy these' _He looked at the plastic bags he was holding, _'...and still have to go to five more because of this VERY long list they made.'_

The store owner came back and showed him some pieces of wood. He even gave some tips on how to construct the terrace ledge they were going to make.

'_How pathetic. I'm missing all the action out there; the world might be needing my help already. Right now there could be thieves on the loose or murderers planning some assassination or syndicates doing their smuggling business, but I, the great detective Kudo Shinichi, am here, buying props materials for our play.'_

After buying the wood, Shinichi started walking to find the next store on the list. Good thing the wood pieces he bought were smaller than what he expected. The store owner said they would just have to fasten those bundled wood pieces together to make the balcony. Now he has lesser tasks and a smaller load.

'_But then...' _His mind wandered again._ 'At least I wouldn't have to act and play the piano there.' _He thought of his twin and smirked. _'I wonder if he's doing his role well. I'm more worried about his Shinichi role than his prince role. He could be a little out of himself when with Aoko.'_

#######

"Hachoo!"

Kaitou laughed.

"Kudo-kun, could you not sneeze and laugh in the middle of a serious scene! You're ruining the atmosphere!" Aoko tried to calm herself down. It was a supposed romantic scene that they have been redoing for the third time already.

"I'm sorry, it's just funny that it happened thrice already and at the same timing with the scene." He continued chuckling.

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

Her eyes were blazing, but Kaito still found it amusing to see her that angry. He couldn't help but smile as he explained, "No, of course I wasn't sneezing everytime you say the phrase 'I love you'. It's not like I want to hear it over and over again so I'm sneezing on purpose... it's not like that, I swear." His voice became softer as he continued, fiddling with his fingers, "But of course I want to hear it from you someday, somehow, someway, but I-"

"Quit mumbling there and let's get this over with!"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Kaitou saluted and grinned before running towards his position at the start of the scene.

The director and the students watching them merely stared at them with disbelief.

#######

Shinichi kept on looking back and forth – at his watch and at the setting sun, as he had his back leaned on the fence of Beika Park.

"What's taking them so long?"

He glanced at the things he bought – small containers of poster paint, a bundle of wood, folded empty flour sacks, glue sticks, metallic papers, a big roll of straw wire/string, some strands of aluminium wire and two bottles of chilled soya milk.

"Out of all these things, the bottles of soya milk are the only ones I can't explain." He raised a brow at the thing. "Will mixing it with paint give it a better tint? Or are they going to use it to soften the flour sacks for the backdrop? Never heard of that before..."

"Ka-I-To-kun!" Ran greeted, suddenly appearing beside him.

"Have you bought everything on the list?" Sonoko inquired.

"Yeah," He replied lazily.

"You remembered to compare prices, right?" Ran asked in a sweeter tone.

"Yep," was his quick answer.

"You didn't forget the martanpi color I told you about, did you?" Sonoko followed.

"That martanpi gave me a pain in the neck! No one has ever heard of that." He lost his calmness for a while after remembering that he had to check out different shops but failed to find that paint color.

"Baka. Martanpi is simply a combination of maroon, tangerine and pink. How could they not know that?" Sonoko reasoned.

"Baka-er. Why didn't you tell me? We could have just mixed those three colors to get a martanpi." Shinichi grimfaced at her.

"Baka-est! There's no maroon and tangerine in poster paints. You have to mix some colors first for you to get them." She sticked her tongue out to him.

Ran just laughed at them.

Though a bit irritated, Shinichi chose to keep quiet for the sake of the argument's end. He was then surprised when he saw Ran and Sonoko take out the bottles of soya milk from the plastic bag and twisted their caps open. Before he realized it, they were drinking the milk already, and it made him even more irritated.

"Ichibanya's soya milk is really delicious, ne Sonoko"

"Yup. Nothing compares to it."

"You mean you two made me buy that not for the play but just for you two?"

The girls just grinned at him.

"Oh brother~" he sighed. _'How could he stand these two?...'_

#######

Meanwhile during the rehearsal break, Kaito decided to bother Aoko. She was sitting at the stairs of the stage, drinking water and reading the script.

As he was approaching, he noticed her glanced at her watch and frowned. She heaved a sigh before looking back to the script.

"What's the matter, Aoko-chan?" Arriving at her side, he asked. "Are you late for an appointment or something?"

She slowly turned to look at him, and stared coldly like that for about three seconds before turning back to the script. No word was heard from her.

Kaito whined, "Aww, don't be angry~ I won't sneeze anymore, I promise." He raised his right hand and showed an obedient face. "Maybe someone with strong vibes was just thinking about me earlier."

Aoko smirked. "Don't you know how to read other people's eyes?" She then stood up and left his side, saying, "You're noisy."

"What was that?" He followed her pace. "You saw though my eyes and found out that I'm noisy? Or were you just telling me that I am noisy?"

"Leave me alone, will you?" She lazily ordered.

#######

It was already dark when Shinichi and Ran were walking along residential streets, carrying the things they bought. Sonoko had to leave them because of a social gathering that her family had to attend.

"Ne Kaito..."

"Hm?"

"It's so quiet, can we talk about something?" She smiled. "They say that talking to a friend will make you forget that you are walking a long road and carrying something heavy."

"Then let me-" He reached for the plastic bags she was carrying but she pulled away.

"No, silly. I don't mean it like that." She giggled. "I'm totally fine with this." She smiled and lifted the bags to reassure him.

"Then, what do we talk about?" He asked comfortably.

"Hm, you ask me a question then I'll ask you."

"You go first."

"No, you go first," she insisted.

He looked up as he asked, "Why do stars twinkle?"

"Eh?"

"Just kidding." He giggled. "Hm... What will you do if... if everyone turned into zombies?"

Her forehead creased. "Well... I would find a way to cure them."

"How would you do that?" was his follow-up.

"Oops, it's my turn to ask now." She smirked.

"Alright, but don't copy my question, that's cheating." He smirked as well.

"Aww, I want to hear your answer on that too." She pouted. She looked around a little and got an idea. "If you were to spend a whole day with someone in a locked room – that is, a locked room that even a magician like you can't open – who would you like to be with and why?"

"That's still cheating, you're asking me two questions in a row," he scolded.

"No, technically it's just one question." She made a funny face at him.

"Tsk, cheater." He looked away to think. _'If Kaito wouldn't be able to open it then it's no use being with him there.'_ "I guess I'd be with you. It will be a good opportunity to get to know you better."

"But you know me better than anyone else, Kaito," she calmly protested.

"Yeah, but, what I mean is" He was startled a bit but didn't show it. "You're my best friend so I'd like to spend time with you like that. You know, do things that we could only do in a locked room..." He instantly covered his mouth with his hand as his eyes froze. "I- I mean-"

Ran laughed seeing him stutter. "I should have hit you already but you look so funny."

"But I didn't mean anything like- you know..." His eyes slowly wandered up above his head. Before he knew it, he received a hard slap on his left cheek.

"Don't you ever think about it." She blew her palm as if it were a gun that just gave out a shot. She smirked.

Rubbing his swelling cheek, Shinichi complained, "I thought my head was going to detach. I was only trying to say-"

"Forget it. It's your turn to ask now." She used a strict voice that made him obey right away.

"Hmpf, I'll get back on you." An idea quickly came into his mind. He smirked evilly before asking, "How much do you like Shinichi? Explain in detail."

"Hey that's not a single question!" She claimed.

"Nope, just one question plus one instruction." He smiled coolly.

It was now Ran's cheeks' turn to become red as the thought came into her mind. She didn't know how to answer, or rather, she didn't want to answer.

Shinichi, on the other hand, was smiling evilly and unstoppably. He was excited to hear how much a fan could adore him.

"I don't have to answer that." She stated blankly.

"What?" was his quick reaction.

"You know that already. You know me better than anyone else, remember?"

He pouted. "Then what's there to ask?" He came up with an idea. "Besides, feelings do change. I just want to be updated with you."

It took her quite a while to answer.

"Well, for me he's really cool." She blushed faintly. "He's very reliable when he's given a task. He can really do a lot and save a lot of people." She looked up and he looked at her. His face showed that he was flattered but at the same time curious.

"I was surprised that he really kept up with the play," she continued, smiling. "I thought he wouldn't be interested in that since he's usually busy with a lot of cases."

As much as Shinichi wanted to listen, his attention was caught by two men ahead. They had a sturdy body build and looked like motor biker thugs, but what bothered Shinichi the most was the way one of them stared at the girl beside him.

The taller man eyed Ran from head to toe and then back up again, with a mischievous smirk on his face.

As Shinichi and Ran were getting closer, the man's impish smile widened. He even licked his upper lip before taking a step towards the two students approaching.

Knowing that she is on the side near that man, Shinichi quickly exchanged places with Ran from behind. He took the plastic bags from her right hand as part of the act and promptly wrapped his left arm around her shoulder. With his hand on her shoulder joint, he gave her a gentle pull closer because she was now on the side near the road and there was a fast car coming. His hawk eyes remained in contact with that of the man as they continued walking.

In no time there was a staring contest between the two. The fact that the man looked like someone who can kill in an instant was no issue for Shinichi. He just wanted to protect her from the malicious thoughts that this man could probably be thinking of.

But from the man's point of view, Shinichi looked like a very protective boyfriend of this girl. He was infuriated a bit because of the lad's arrogant stare but his companion stopped him from doing something outrageous.

Ran, on the other hand, was not able to notice anything as she was busy telling stuff about how cool Kudo Shinichi is. Apparently, what she just noticed was his arm on her shoulder. She pointed at it and said, "Why is-"

"There was a bug!" He quickly answered. "But I was wrong." He withdrew his hand from her shoulder and showed her a piece of thread it was holding. He smiled childishly and said, "It was just this."

She giggled. "Why go to my right side and notice something on my left side? You're so weird Kaito..."

He smiled, "Well, I guess some things are noticed more when looked at from afar. People tend to overlook what's in front of them."

She gave him a light push forward. "You sound like a mature, philosophical man."

He smirked. "Isn't that handsome?"

"Nah~" She giggled.

#######

When they arrived at Ran's house, she first checked her dad's office to see if he has been making a mess.

"Dad!~ I told you to keep your office clean." She placed the plastic bags on the couch and started picking up the cans of beer and food wrappers on the table.

With the door left open in front of him, Shinichi took it as an invitation to come in. He tried to help her with the cleaning but she insisted that he just be seated.

Kogoro cleared his throat. "And what do I suppose is the show-off detective punk doing here? Perhaps you changed your mind and decided to become my disciple, ne?" He smiled smugly.

"Dad, don't be rude." Ran scolded him softly. "And he's not your detective rival. He's Shinichi's twin brother, Kaito. Don't you remember him?"

"I don't remember any friend of yours that looks like that guy..." He narrowed his eyes and observed Shinichi's appearance. "And besides, that punk is clearly not my rival 'cause he is younger and obviously inferior to my greatness."

Shinichi forced a smile. In his mind, he was surprised to see the same guy from a few days ago. _'I can't believe it. They don't look much alike either... It's really amazing that the world becomes so small sometimes."_

In no time, the two started working on the props. Shinichi was cutting out papers for the decorations that Ran was tracing. They had to work in the office because Kogoro insisted them to do so. "I have to make sure that this punk doesn't take advantage of my daughter's frailty," he even said.

Dinner time came and Ran had to cook for the three of them. She left the two guys and headed upstairs to prepare the meal.

Kogoro seized the chance to ask Shinichi a few questions.

"So what do you plan to be in the future?"

"Me? Err, I don't know yet, sir," the lad replied.

"Geez, I'll never allow her to go out with a plan-less guy like you."

"G-go out?" Shinichi looked at him and sweatdropped. He then continued fiddling with a rectangular wooden box and a piece of glass of the same size as the box.

"What are you trying to do with that?" Kogoro came closer to the couch. "Trying to make a mirror box?"

"No, sir. I'm putting this mirror inside the box for a hiding trick." His detective senses made him demonstrate the thing to Kogoro. "You see, if you place something like this blue ribbon in here and then cover it with the mirror diagonally this way, it would seem that there is nothing inside the box, see?" He showed him the interior of the box, looking as clear as empty.

"Wow, it does seem empty!"

The lad smiled proudly.

"Wait... Are you sure you are not that detective punk Kudo?" Kogoro suspected.

Shinichi's smile turned into a startled expression as he tried to find a way to dissuade Kogoro from thinking like that.

"O-of course not!" He fixed his tie, which was loosened up earlier. "I'm his younger brother, a finer man than that punk." He gave him a convincing smile. Kogoro seemed to like what he said.

"And by the way, uncle," Shinichi followed, "I have to pain this box, what color does the great detective think would make this look plain but mysterious?"

"Well, violet I suppose?"

The younger one cupped his chin and eyed at the box before commenting, "Impressive. I never thought of that."

Kogoro laughed, proud of himself. "Well, that's just a natural talent of mine... being good at everything, wahahaha!"

In his mind, Shinichi grimfaced but he had to continue convincing Kogoro that he is not the smart detective he really is.

"Violet is made from the colors..." the lad left that hanging.

"Red and blue!" Kogoro answered like a primary school student, raising a hand in the process.

"Wow, you're so smart uncle!" He laughed.

Kogoro laughed with him. "And you're so agreeable!" He gave the lad a pat on the shoulder.

'_So when I'm Shinichi, I'm a show-off detective punk, but when I'm Kaito, I'm agreeable... Jeez~' _he thought.

When Ran returned to invite them for dinner, it surprised her how the two became friends in just a short time alone. But what surprised her more was the can of beer that her father was making Shinichi drink.

"Go ahead, you have a '_parent's_' consent anyway, don't worry." She heard her father say.

"Dad~ what are you doing to Kaito?" She was, however, too late to stop his first sip.

Shinichi faced her and merely gave her a 'sorry-I-was-not-able-to-refuse-because-he-is-too-insistent' sheepish smile.

##To be continued##

**AN: **Hello everyone! Sorry for making you wait ^_^; school has been very busy _ hope you enjoyed this chapter, though ^_^ thanks to all who gave a review and all who added this fic to their favorites and alert list ^o^

Please find time to leave a review =D it would be an honor to know what my readers think of Twins ^-^

~I miss this fic.. I'm so glad that I was able to finish this left-\hanging chappie, moe moe~

Thank you for reading! \(^.^)/

By the way, the trick in the box with the mirror was obtained from Detective Conan Live Action 1 =D It was a really good movie so watch it if you haven't! ^^

**Next Chapter~**

_Knowing her better means knowing what she does... what makes her happy... and what she is hiding...inside? _O_O


	11. Discoveries

**Twins**

**Chapter 11: Discoveries**

_'It has been two weeks since my twin brother and I first switched places.' _Shinichi thought to himself while looking outside the classroom window, one fine morning.

He had his hands inside his pockets as he observed the students entering the school gate.

_'If it weren't for the play preparations and practices, we wouldn't switch roles almost everyday after school.'_

He then leaned one hand on the glass window.

'_And what's worse is that I become weirdly generous sometimes, allowing that guy to switch with me for a whole day just so he could gaze at Nakamori during class hours. Sad to say, today's one of those unusual days.'_

His lips curved into a half-hearted smile.

'_I really can't understand myself sometimes.'_

All of a sudden, he felt a hand tap his shoulder. He turned around only to see a small rectangular piece of glossy paper being stuck onto his face. His left eyebrow raised in an instant.

"You will watch me, right?"

He moved aside the hands that were holding the piece of paper and saw Ran's childishly excited face. The latter held her bright 'I-can't-wait-for-your-answer' smile as they stared at each other in silence.

Seeing the situation as pointless, Shinichi decided to check what the previous paper was all about. With one hand still in his pocket the cool way he does, he took the paper from her hand and gave it a glance. "National Karate Match"

He looked at her blankly as if implying _'So what about it?'_

Ran's smile slowly turned into a pout. "Don't tell me you are not going to watch me fight those karate champs from other districts and cities…"

She bit her lower lip; her pout worsened into an expression that looks like a child who is about to cry. "I have practiced so hard to get to that level only to find out that my boy best friend won't support me when I will need him most..."

Realization slowly crept onto Shinichi's mind, the same way as how his eyes grew bigger.

"You mean, you? Karate? National Match?"

Seeing him now interested, Ran's innocent smile came back as she nodded.

Shinichi instantly faced his left and heaved a sigh of relief from certain danger, because, the previous events quickly flashed into his mind - showing an ill temper and blaming Ran for his cold, the time when she pushed him lightly as they were walking one evening, the slap she gave him when she thought he was thinking of something nasty, the mornings filled with him teasing her about his real self, her laughter and gentle slaps on his upper arm... With that, all he thought of was, _'I am lucky to still be alive, then!'_

He faced her and took some seconds to stare. _'I can't believe it. She doesn't look tough when she's smiling innocently like that. She's rather...cute-'_ He quickly shook his head to remove the thought.

_'But dad once told me that girls are good at faking...' _He narrowed his eyes on her a bit._ 'But she did not actually fake her gentle looks. Who would have thought anyway that she is into such sport! Kaito didn't tell me anything either.'_

Seeing him change facial expressions one after another as he pondered, she interrupted. "So are you coming or are you coming?" She then grinned evilly at him, which made him take a step backward.

She stepped closer to him, her smile growing more evil.

He took another step backward. "Gulp-"

3...

2...

1...

"Of course I'll come and cheer for you Ran!" He quickly took the ticket from her hand and laughed nervously. "I'll even bring a cheering squad and a mascot if that'll make you happy. Hahaha!"

Ran's expression quickly turned delighted. "Aw, you're really the sweetest, Kaito~" Out of sheer happiness, she pinched his cheeks. "You being there is already more encouragement than any cheering squad could give." She smiled earnestly before heading back to her seat.

Shinichi was left dumbfounded for a moment with his cheeks faintly red. He didn't know why but all he knew was that her pinch was as gentle as her smile.

#######

During lunch break...

"Hey, Shin-" Kaito greeted the familiar person who sat with him at the cafeteria, forgetting what was meant to be remembered. "Shin-shin-shiiiiiin!~" he covered the almost loud slip-up, with his fingers fluttering as if doing magic on the person in front.

"Why didn't you tell me that she's into karate?" was Shinichi's reply to the energetic greeting he received.

Kaito tilted his head a bit. "You mean Ran?"

"Who else?" The older twin shrugged.

"Well, you never asked." The younger twin laughed. "Why, did she break your leg or threw you onto the wall or something?"

"No, but I could have been!" Shinichi smirked.

The other one continued laughing. "So what made you miss me?" He asked coolly before taking a bite from his veggie-ful sandwich.

"Well, she gave me this." Shinichi showed him the ticket to the karate match.

"Waaaa~" Kaito dropped his food on its plate and reached for the ticket but his brother instinctively pulled it away.

"What's the matter?"

"I wanna see her match!~" All of a sudden, Kaito became a sulking child, his legs swinging back and forth separately. "I've been waiting for that~ You're a really really bad oniitan if you don't give me that~"

Shinichi chuckled, finding the situation amusing. "Sorry, but she gave it to me." He smirked.

Kaito tried hard to get the ticket from his brother but the latter was really sturdy. All he could do was just to sit back and whine in defeat. "Mou~ That was really meant for me~"

Shinichi flashed his naughty smile. "But I am you. So, it's mine."

"But that's really supposed to be -"

"So~rry~" Shinichi chuckled.

The two continued without minding the fan girls around them trying to take pictures of the pitifully-cute-but-still-trying Kaito and the gorgeously merciless Shinichi.

"Just spare me this one. It made me curious." Shinichi stated before putting the ticket back in his wallet.

"Didn't you know that curiosity could kill?~" Kaito was still dramatically reaching for it, though chances have already passed.

"Besides," Shinichi looked aside and cupped his chin with his hand, his elbow on the table. "It would be good for me to be more knowledgeable about the things a 'Kaito' should know, right?"

"Mou~" Kaito dropped his head on the table in defeat. But without a second passing by, he had a sudden boost of energy that made him propose, "I know! Why don't you just tell her that 'Shinichi' wants to see her match too?" He emphasized the quotation marks with his fingers. "She'd be happier with that, I'm sure… and I'd be, too!" He grinned at his brother, and this, somehow, convinced the latter.

"Hm… I'll try." Shinichi stood up, putting his hands in his pockets as he did so. He showed a smile before saying, "I better get going, I still have to-" To his surprise, Kaito was already close to his face. "What are you doing?" he asked his brother who seemed to be investigating his eyes.

"Shhh! I'm trying to read your eyes." Kaito magically popped out a magnifying glass and used it on his twin.

"Huh?"

"Aoko told me that I couldn't read eyes so I'm trying hard to figure out how to do that." He continued inspecting.

"Baka, she might just be speaking figuratively." The confident Shinichi got his brother eager to listen. "She must be telling you to be sensitive of other people's feelings."

Kaito showed a doubtful face. "You really think so, Mr. Detective? I mean, I'm the detective, do you really think so?" He smirked at his own word scramble.

He only got a confident nod as a response.

The younger one took some time to contemplate. He looked aside and cupped his chin with his pattering fingers. When he turned back, it surprised him to suddenly see his brother close to his face the same way he did earlier.

"Your eyes…" Shinichi gave him a stern look. "They tell me that you are being the giddy-giddy one again with her while you're on my shoes."

Kaito was too startled to give a proper answer. "N-no, of course not! That's not- being giddy. Just-"

Shinichi smirked. "Well, it's up to you. If you continue showing her how you like her, she might end up liking me." He turned his back on his brother and started to walk away.

"Waaa!" Kaito understood at once what his brother meant. An image of Aoko and Shinichi dating quickly flashed into his mind, but he vehemently shook it away. "No!~"

Shinichi just laughed at him.

"You blackmailer detective…" Kaito pouted.

#######

On his way back to class, Kaito recalled what his brother warned about.

'_What will I do…'_

He wore the most troubled expression he has ever had.

'_What _could_ I do?'_

'_It comes out naturally when I'm with her… It's like I don't have any control of myself…' _He thought, remembering how every time he was with Aoko he would be careless about the disguise. _'I am good with disguising but in this case…'_

As he sat on his seat, he forced himself to come up with an idea but his mind was too distracted and worried about what his brother said, for him to think of something good.

Later on, he spotted Aoko entering the classroom. She looked worn-out and sweaty, and she was panting a bit. In an instant, he saw himself running towards her, without realizing when he started doing so.

"Aoko-chan!" With utmost enthusiasm, he approached her, his arms wide-open.

She countered it with a defensive push and her hand landed on his face. "Not now, Kudo, I'm in the middle of something important."

Seeing her busy looking for something in her bag, he turned to the Annoying Kaito mode instead, the verbal edition, and started asking, "Why? What's the matter? What are you looking for?" He laughed.

A glimpse at his expression aggravated her more. "Argh, if only I could find that thing immediately, I wouldn't have to deal with this annoying creature here…" she mumbled.

Not hearing what she said, he continued, still showing an inappropriate-for-her-mood smile. "Did you lose something? Do you need some help?" He suddenly noticed how dirty her hands were and nonchalantly took them into his for a closer observation. "Were you playing with rusty iron bars? You're all sweaty too." He chuckled. "Tsk tsk, Aoko-chan~ You should wash your hands after playing, that's a basic rule you know."

More irritated than ever, she quickly pulled her hands back and said, "Go to hell and be involved with their businesses there, not mine! Hrrr, you're so hateful."

_Hateful~_

_Hateful~_

What she said echoed in his mind as it instantly struck him. He was really weird, though, to still be smiling widely after being yelled at like that. _'I've got it! I know what to do now!'_

Now busy with his thoughts, he failed to notice her leave and everything seemed to have disappeared from his sight the moment he delved in deeper into the idea he just had.

'_That's right! In order for Aoko not to end up liking Shinichi, I should just make sure that she would hate him… and that would be possible if I would constantly do something she dislikes!'_

He walked towards his seat unconsciously, one hand fondling his chin. _'One would surely dislike a person who makes fun of her, does what she says she doesn't like, gives her nothing but trouble, mocks her randomly, annoys her every time possible… Yes, I'll make her temper rise and let it be the wall that would cease her from liking Kudo Shinichi!' _He laughed manically inside.

'_That sounds awfully fun!' _He chuckled to himself.

He turned around and saw no remnants of Aoko. _'Man, I can't wait to start.' _In no time, he was already running out of the room, looking for her to start his scheme.

#######

Sad to say, Kaito wasn't able to find Aoko for she was down on the floor of the school grounds, literally, as she unscrewed the railings of a drain where something like a key chain fell into.

It was a tiny ice cream cone key chain – Aoko's favorite thing that her dad gave her. It reminds her of the days when she and her dad will go out to the park for an ice cream when she was little. She wouldn't want to let it go down the drain, so seeing it still hooked onto something drove her to try every means possible just to get it back.

And after trying different sticks and twigs just to reach for it but ending unsuccessfully, her last resort was to open the drain itself with the screw driver that was included in the Swiss knife her dad also gave her. It was the thing she was looking for in her bag earlier.

"Yatta! I got it!"

Now happy with her key chain back, she returned to the classroom, not knowing the Kaito-naughtiness that awaits her.

When she arrived at their classroom front door, she casually opened it but was surprised when it did not slide open. She pulled it a little harder but the door was as if glued onto its frame.

Unbeknownst to her, someone very familiar was behind that door and was pulling it towards the other way, preventing her from opening it. But when this person chuckled, her dog ears instantly sensed the enemy, leading her to the decision of using her full 100% strength in pulling the door open. With her strong move, the enemy was thrown away to the back of the room, but he quickly came back to witness her blazing figure marching heavily to her seat.

"What strong arms you got there huh!" was the next thing she heard from him.

She clenched her fist and slowly turned to look at his face. "Kudo Shinichi…"

He was taken aback by her fierce burning eyes.

"If you do not have anything good to do with your life, please choose another hobby aside from bothering me!" Aoko held his collar tight and in an instant, Kaito was flying again towards the cabinets at the back of the room.

Despite the painful landing, his lips curved into a smile.

#######

Lunch break was almost over when Shinichi entered the 3-B classroom. Upon finding Ran chatting with her girl friends, he approached her and the girls generously gave them privacy – some were smiling mischievously while some were dreamily staring at him as these girls walked away.

"Ran," he started.

"Yes?" She smiled warmly.

"About the Karate Tournament..."

Thinking that he was about to reject her invitation because of his serious expression, she stood up to look at him more closely. Her eyes looked worried.

He looked to his right as soon as she was face-to-face with him. He avoided eye contact because he felt embarrassed of what he was about to ask.

"Well you see, I want to go see your match, but my brother also wants to go, so..."

"Whew," she sighed. "I thought you wouldn't want to come!" was her statement of relief. "You got me worried, but good thing- wait, what did you just say?" Her eyes grew big all of a sudden.

His right foot started to fiddle a crumpled paper he spotted on the floor. He unconsciously played with it as if it were a soccer ball. His hands were in his pockets the cool way he always does as he started explaining. "Well, I… I know it's already kind of you to give me a ticket, so I would just like to ask if you could tell me where I can buy another one for my brother. He told me he wanted to watch you too and that I should just-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was alerted by her who suddenly fainted and was about to fall from where she stood.

Good thing his reflex was fast enough to catch her. He was able to support her upper body and she ended up partly lying on his arms.

"Hey, what happened to you?" He shook her lightly but she continued to smile foolishly, her eyes twirling with ecstasy.

His lips formed a half-hearted smile. _'He was right. It did make her happy. Seems like the mere thought of Shinichi showing interest in her is already heaven. Girls these days are really something. This is quite interesting."_ His smile turned into a smirk.

He lifted her into his arms and brought her to his seat, which was beside the window, where she would have something to lean her shoulder and head onto. It was because his detective mind instantly told him that it would be better for her to rest upright instead of leaning her head on the desk. Besides, her eyes were still twirling with glee as she was wide awake but was mentally unconscious.

Suddenly, a familiar musical female voice called out by the door saying, "Kudo Kaito-kun."

Shinichi turned around and saw Ms. Fujiyama. He suddenly got nervous and it amplified the closer he got to her. _'Why am I feeling like this?... Is this some kind of a forewarning?'_

She hit his stiff shoulder lightly. "Why do you look so scared? I'm not here to bring you any problem." She laughed. He did not show any sign of relief, though.

"It's about the school festival. I want your band to perform on that night." She said while flipping her fan open.

"Ohhh." He then sighed. _'I guess that won't be much of a problem. The play will be on the afternoon, he can still perform with his band.' _An evil smile then appeared on his lips. _'That day will surely be a busy one for him. The price for abusing your resemblance with your twin…'_

She tapped his shoulder. "Yes, I know a lot of girls will be there, but don't be too confident that you would win them all. You have to start practicing with your band too and make it a night we would all remember, okay?"

He simply nodded, though a bit confused, and she continued. "We thought that having your band perform that day would be a great attraction for outsiders. Since your bandmates all come from different schools, they must be famous in their respective schools just like you in here."

Shinichi smiled shyly. "I guess so, sensei."

He was surprised when she hit him on the shoulder again, but this time it was a bit stronger. "What do you mean 'I guess so'? Be sure of it! I had a few students who did a research on your popularity and it turned out that 95% of the students of Teitan High, Beika High, Seichi High and Maseru High are all your fans. And don't forget about your fans from other high schools, junior high and elementary schools and even universities." Her eyes blazed with confidence. "I'm sure this year's school festival will be a blast! Your brother will be performing in the play and you will have a concert. Teitan will be flooded with your fans and the earnings will even exceed the expenses of the school."

Shinichi was left speechless with everything she said. All he thought was, _'Teachers could be over enthusiastic sometimes. He-he-he.'_

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to start assigning the publicity tasks for the festival. As the head organizer, I wouldn't want to cram any of the preparations." She smiled before leaving.

As he went back to check Ran, he took out his phone and started composing a mail to his brother, telling him the news.

#######

That day after classes, Shinichi headed to the Karate Club's meeting at the school grounds.

'_Beneath the biggest cherry blossom tree, she said.' _He thought while running._ 'I do hope they're still there… If it weren't for Fujiyama-sensei telling me all her big plans for the festival AGAIN, I wouldn't be as late as I am.'_

'_I hope Ran wouldn't karate chop me for this.'_ He chuckled.

He arrived and saw the club doing some routines. He gave a wave at Ran as he leaned a hand on the tree while catching his breath. But it was not only Ran who noticed him arrived-

"Kyaaaaaaaa!"

All the girls screamed as if a celebrity just came out from a shiny limousine in front of them. They immediately crowded up in front of Shinichi, and held out their markers and CD cases bearing the title "K.I.D."

Shinichi was surrounded and could not move. He just grinned at them, hoping they would set him free in return.

Ran, who was the only one left in her place, sighed and said, "Girls, reserve the autograph-signing for later. Kaito would be staying with us today as punishment for being late for our appointment." She crossed her arms in from of her chest and looked at him with a wicked-boss expression to show the bewildered Shinichi how serious that statement was.

But her simple statement roused not the excitement of the girls, but their curiosity instead. Now with the attention on the two of them, Ran ended up getting teased and presupposed as Kudo Kaito's girlfriend.

"Eh?" the two chorused.

"I'm not…" She continuously waved her hand as a sign of 'no' but her cheeks flushed faintly without her noticing.

"No, she's not…" He did the same thing and the same thing happened to him.

Of course, the girls did not let this observation slip by. They continued teasing the two and that was how their afternoon turned out.

#######

"Alright guys, five-minute break!"

It was 3-A and B's practice for their play. The students in the left half of the gym started to scatter after hearing what the director said.

Kaito walked towards Aoko with a serious face. She was seated on a corner, drinking some water when he spoke, "Nakamori Aoko,"

"What is it?" She looked up to him with an equally serious expression.

"Let me make this clear," He breathed deeply before continuing. "I, Kudo Shinichi, do not have any feelings for you. Nor am I attracted to you or your ways. I don't have the slightest bit of interest in you. So don't you misunderstand me or something, okay?" He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, his face turned away from her and his lips curved into a smug smile.

In his mind, _'This would both state the underlying fact that Shinichi does not like her and provoke her to dislike me more~ hahahahaha!' _His smug face turned into a wicked psychopathic expression.

Aoko, on the other hand, was like burning oil doused little by little with water. "Why you…!" Out of nowhere, she was able to grab a mop and started hitting him though he was able to dodge. "You and your brother are weird, but you're worse!"

"Well, that's right. So dont like me will you?" He said while running away from the mop chase, laughing.

"Never! Not even in my dreams!" was her reply, as she continued striking him.

#######

Shinichi ended up staying at the karate practice. He recalled how every time he tried to escape, Ran would glare at him, and he would obediently go back to his seat. He was not really scared, as in scared, but it was just how guys would submit to girls' dominant mode sometimes.

Now they were walking towards the school gate, with Ran completely back to her school uniform.

"Here's the extra ticket." Ran cheerfully handed out to him.

"You look so happy. Is it because he's coming?" he asked in a lazy manner, his hands at the back of his head.

"No," she chuckled. "It's because I want to show you something."

With that said, she pulled his arm and started running.

Her sudden change of pace did not surprise Shinichi for long. What took his attention was her hand grabbing him by his wrist. It was something new to him – he did not know exactly if someone else has pulled him by the wrist before but it just felt new.

"I found a place that sells my favorite drink. I want to show it to you." Excitement was very evident in her voice. "I'm sure you'd be happy to see it too."

"Really? Why, does it have some significance in the past or something?" he asked casually.

"You'll see." She smiled.

'_Gee, I hope I don't get memory-tested later…' _he thought.

#######

They arrived at a certain convenience store and she led him towards the refrigerators. She opened a door and grabbed a bottle of green tea of a certain brand.

"Here it is!" She showed him with a grin.

He took the bottle in his hand and inspected it. "I didn't know this flavor of TeaZee existed—I mean, STILL existed." He remembered that he was supposed to know the drink.

"Exactly!" Ran hopped in glee. "They reduced or, I think, stopped its production over the years for some reason and now I found it! Yay!"

"Yeah, 'yay' for you." He smiled half heartedly.

She pouted in response, saying, "You're really mean."

She then turned to look at the other refrigerators and said, "Hey, pick your drink. My treat." She smiled as if she were planning something.

He examined her look for a second before saying, "Ok then." He scanned the available drinks and decided on the TeaZee lemon tea in can.

"Great! I knew you would remember that." She looked really happy that Shinichi's eyebrow rose up a bit.

"Aw, come on, don't you remember?" She took it from his hand. "Too bad they don't sell these warm unlike the vending machine back then, ne?"

He still looked clueless.

She scowled at him and explained, "I gave you this when you bothered surprising me with this green tea, remember?"

He lightly shook his head but he said, "Yeah, I sort of remember that." He smiled naughtily.

As they were walking towards the cashier, she retold what happened back then out of sheer happiness in seeing those drinks again. "I used to drink this after a karate practice, remember? You would always accompany me to the vending machine before we go home. Then one time that vending machine in school ran out of this particular green tea and it was a perfect timing that I was upset because our captain scolded me, the reason of which, I can't remember now, actually. And then, you took a bottle of this from your bag and gave it to me." She smiled widely. "You must have bought that one too early, though." She laughed. "It wasn't cold; not even a portion of it was cold."

'_I bet that bottle was always in his bag that time… Prepared in case the green tea goes out of stock.' _Shinichi thought, smiling.

After paying for the drinks, she handed the lemon tea to him and continued, "That's why I have thought of giving you a warm drink in return."

"Was that out of gratitude or mockery?" he entered.

She laughed. "I don't know, maybe both."

He smiled craftily before asking, "Why did you choose this particular warm drink back then?" He felt slightly proud that he was acting natural in accordance to his supposed identity.

"Because it was the only warm drink there that suits you," she replied.

"What do you mean?"

"The others were black coffee and hot chocolate. I imagined that the black coffee is for adults who look serious and quite scary while the hot chocolate is for kids who are very innocent and fun-loving. The lemon tea suited you because it was just the right flavor – a bit tangy but sweet, like you, who is always teasing me but is still nice and caring, and you are almost always calm and gentle, which is the feeling one gets when drinking warm tea." She smiled as she explained.

Shinichi showed a doubting face. "Really? I bet there were only three warm drinks there, so whatever that was not the black coffee and not the hot choco would be the very drink that's in my hand right now."

"No, you're really mean Kaito!~" She lightly hit his upper arm. "I have really thought of a personality matching with those warm drinks there before I bought one! But yes, there were only three to chose from." She pouted before opening her drink and taking a sip.

"Then you must be really talented. We should promote that drink-matching talent of yours and who knows, you might make a fortune out of that." He mocked before opening his tea and drinking some.

"Hmph! Meanie!" She hastened her pace as she crossed arms in front of her chest.

He just let her be, a smile still on his lips.

After a short moment of silence, she stopped and faced him, and said, "Come to think of it, Kaito, you have never tried my green tea before, have you?" She opened her bottle and in a split second, the mouth of the bottle was pressed onto his lips and he had no choice but to drink it according to her will. "We can't tell if we can see this tea again, so you shouldn't miss the chance." She laughed as she reclosed the bottle.

On the contrary, Shinichi looked like someone unhappy with the experience. He ran towards a wall and had a palm leaned on it as he faced the ground and tried to cough out the taste of what he just drank. "Gleahh, what is that thing?"

She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "My dad and Sonoko also found it weird-tasting, I don't know why." She shrugged. "But my mom liked it too."

He muttered, "Maybe that's why they stopped producing that tea. It tastes like plastic or gelatin extract or something."

"What did you say?" she demanded while still stifling her laughter.

As they continued walking, he said, "Hey, now that you found your tea, why not buy a lot and stock up in your house so you'll never miss it again?" He was wondering why his twin did not buy a lot of that tea back then and supplied her with it during its disappearance in the market. He knew his brother would have easily thought of that.

"Silly, I wouldn't want to keep all of the remaining stock to myself," she answered. "I know how it feels to miss something you love and never know when it would return. That's why I want others to have that tea again too. Plus, I don't want to take away others' chance to try it for the first time, because I'm sure they're going to love it." She remarked happily before drinking some of the green tea.

"More like 'they're going to regret it'…" he muttered chuckling.

"I heard you." She hit him on the upper arm again before closing the cap.

All of a sudden, someone running has bumped Ran and it knocked her tea out of her hand. It fell and spilled on the ground, to her dismay. Shinichi, too, was surprised and felt sorry for her. But when they heard a lady cry "Thief! A thief! Help! Chase him!" they wasted no time and ran after that man who passed by them. He was carrying a red leather pouch, which showed the two the evidence.

They ran after him, even through a narrow alley and an intersection.

When they reached Beika Park, a soccer ball bounced towards Shinichi and he immediately kicked it, aiming for the man. He was undoubtedly a sharp shooter, but the problem was that Ran had already jumped forth to give the man a flying kick. She successfully knocked him down before the soccer ball could reach the point where the man was lying.

While his soccer ball bounced lifelessly after making a dent on the park railings it hit, Shinichi's jaw dropped as he watched Ran tie the man's hands at the latter's back with the necktie she has quickly taken off.

Shinichi quickly approached her to help.

"Hey, next time don't throw things like that. You might hit innocent people," she scolded him but smiled at the end. "I saw something like that in a movie."

He grinned and nodded obediently. _'Good thing she did not notice me kick it.'_

The man still tried to resist to the point of escaping her tie, but she was able to secure his hands again. He took hold of the man's hands and pulled him to stand up, while Ran went to give back the pouch to the lady who also tagged along behind them.

Shinichi also returned the ball to the kid who approached him. "Oniisan, your kick was superb! But your girlfriend got the bad guy first. You two were amazing." the little boy remarked. Shinichi just smiled at him and rubbed his head. He didn't bother arguing with the kid about the G-word because he had to bring the culprit to the policeman who followed them in the middle of the heist.

The lady kept on thanking Ran and insisted on giving them a reward. "Please accept this." She took Ran's hands with hers, slipped in something like a gift check and earnestly clasped Ran's hands with hers. "I own a restaurant nearby. It would be my honor to give you and your boyfriend a treat."

"No need ma'am, we're glad we could help." Ran then smiled sarcastically, saying, "And he's not my boyfriend ma'am."

She kept on refusing but the lady won in the end, saying it would break her heart to be rejected.

Shinichi approached Ran after talking to the policeman and she showed him the 20,000 Yen restaurant gift check she received. "Look. This is too much but she insisted on giving this." She smiled sheepishly. "Let's eat there someday."

"A reward for the drink-matching thief-kicking clumsy girl who dropped her green tea." He smirked.

She bumped him with her elbow as they started walking. "Don't remind me of that."

He snickered. "Did you really want to help the lady or you just wanted to avenge your green tea?"

"I'm not the vengeful type," she stated, smiling.

"A crime disguised as heroism, tsk tsk." He continued teasing.

"Urusai~" She pouted with squinting eyes. "Meanie Kaito."

"Hey," he spoke after a short silence. "Put some medine on your hand when you get home."

She checked her hands and saw a wound at the back of the left one. "I didn't notice this."

"You must have gotten it from his wrist watch when you were strangling his hands," He stated confidently.

"Oh. Clumsy me." She sighed.

"Nah, you're good. But next time be more careful at don't get hurt, ok?" He pat her head out of brotherly instinct.

"Hai hai~" She gave him a cute little girl scout salute.

#######

The following day, Kaito went to his band meeting at their band manager's place. His bandmates, Izumi the lead guitarist, Ichiro the bassist, Daigo the drummer and Suzuki Kazuha, their manager, were all there.

As her surname implies, Suzuki Kazuha is a direct relative of Sonoko - her cousin to be exact. She goes to Seichi High School, same with Izumi, and she aspires to manage her own recording company someday, hence she insisted on managing her junior high friends' band as part of her training. Her dad won't give her the capital she needs to establish her company till she's 18, so she just uses her connections, the internet, and her recording studio at home to promote and cultivate K.I.D.

"Guys, we're going to be busy from now on," announced Kazuha as the boys let go of their instruments and came to her at their conference table. "We'll be having a pictorial either next week or the week after next and then we'll shoot the music video for Moonlight as per public demand."

"Woah, pictorial again?" Izumi scowled before ripping open the potato chip snack on the table. He passed it on to Daigo, who spoke, "And a music video again, too."

"We just finished a video last week right?" asked Ichiro.

"Yes, and it was a hit!" Kazuha was enthusiastic. "Our fan site has increased the number of members after the release of Summer Rain video. A lot of them requested for more, and the song with the most votes was Moonlight." She cleared her throat before stating the great idea she was proud of. "The theme I have thought of for Moonlight is about four princes competing over a princess, who turns into a doll when the moon gets covered by the clouds."

The boys' faces turned confused all the same time. "Eh?" Then they all laughed hard, which enraged their manager. She then hit them all with the magically appearing big paper fan.

"Fans will love it," Kazuha explained, "Especially the girls. You guys in prince outfit would surely be a big hit!"

'_When will my being a prince ever end?~'_ Kaito smiled halfheartedly. "Who will be the doll-turning princess or princess-turning doll?" he then asked.

"She's originally a doll but turns into a princess when hit by the moonlight. Just as how Moonlight tells about being a hopeless romantic, about hope amidst darkness in love's context. Ohohoho~ " She laughed. "I have thought of conducting an audition for the princess role but if time wouldn't permit, Ran would be our princess!"

Having heard of that, the three guys cheered on Kaito, while the latter just smiled halfheartedly at them. Ever since junior high, they teased him about Ran because they knew about the past.

"What can you say about that, Kaito?" Daigo snickered.

"I say, Ran's gonna be my sister-in-law, I already have my new princess! Bleah!" He stuck his tongue out to them. "Oh, and there's something I have to tell you guys." He turned serious but Kazuha interrupted him.

"I also have something to say to you, Mr. Main Composer. When will our new song be produced?" She had her hands on her waist as she demanded.

"Sorry, sort of busy these days but I'll try to finish one by the end of the month." He made a peace sign with his fingers as he grinned.

"You guys, if you have a new composition, tell me about it, okay?" she told the other three. "Kaito's slow~"

Kaito pouted at her. He then turned serious again to say, "There's something else we have to prepare for! It's-"

"You're right! It's the third anniversary party-concert of Club Hisashi and we are invited to perform there," she said.

"Club Hisashi?" Izumi asked. "That place is famous for fights and delinquents, isn't it?"

"Yeah, wouldn't that be dangerous?" Ichiro added.

"Yes and that would make our band more famous." She got more excited. "People will think of K.I.D. as a band prepared for anything, even for dangerous stuff, and if ever you guys get into a fight on that day, it's alright because your fans will admire you more for being real men." She laughed proudly.

The boys turned into chibi mode and muttered with each other with grim faces.

Kaito: She's insane.

Ichiro: Yeah, her ideas get worse every month.

Daigo: Are you sure she doesn't have any sort of mental illness, Izumi? You're schoolmates, right?

Izumi: She seems normal in school. But sometimes she spends some time alone at the rooftop. Maybe she really has a depression illness thing, don't you think?

All the boys nodded in agreement.

In an instant, they all received a big-paper-fan combo, smokin' style. "I heard all what you said!"

After recovering from the physical assault, they all turned serious again.

"When's that concert going to be?" Kaito asked.

"Night of December 16," she replied.

"Crap, straight busy sched!" was Kaito's reaction. "My school's festival is on the day after that. We were asked to perform there." _'And I also have a play in the afternoon and a class booth to manage in the morning~' _His eyes were twirling as he recalled everything he has to do.

"Really? Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Kazuha got all excited again.

"I've been trying to tell you but you always cut me off~" He scowled.

"Then I have to talk to your organizer about the business deal, theme and publicity! I have to make sure you guys will look best that day in front of your hundreds of fans who will come."

Kazuha not only manages the band in terms of schedule and promotion, but she also decides on outfit every performance, because her mom owns a shopping mall. She basically asks her mom for the clothes and accessories she likes there and makes it part of the band's costume collection. She really is into the band manager role so much and on top of that, her means and ideas are always successful even if they are seemingly weird sometimes.

She was about to leave for the boys to have a rehearsal but she remembered, "Oh, Polly Cannon and Tokyo Records wanted to buy you guys but I refused them. I don't want us to be bossed around by those recording companies. We're going to build our own! Just nine more months before my 18th birthday~" she laughed manically as she left the studio.

"She really loves us, doesn't she?" Daigo commented.

Kaito smirked, "Too much love can kill you." And they all laughed.

#######

That same afternoon, in Teitan High, Shinichi as Kaito and Ran were walking towards the shoe lockers.

"Don't you have a band practice today?" Ran asked.

"Nah, day off." Shinichi smiled. Kaito left the play rehearsal early so the real Shinichi was stuck in his Kaito role with the props team. "How about you?" he asked, referring to her jogging outfit.

"Just going for some rounds," was her meek reply.

"Want some company? You might meet a snatcher on your way again." He soft-laughed.

"You really think that I'm some sort of a trouble magnet, don't you?" she remarked before opening her locker.

He just laughed at her reply as he opened his locker, but he was taken aback by an envelope avalanche.

"How's the new song you're composing?" she asked after getting her rubber shoes. But when she turned to look at him, "Wow, your fans are really active huh?" she chuckled.

"Help me here, will you" said the Shinichi who was seated on the floor covered with fan mails.

Ran helped him pick up the envelops . "Do you guys read all of these?"

"Well, there are still a lot of unread letters in my- I mean, Shinichi's room, while I have mine organized in my drawers according to certain categories," he explained as he put the envelops in his bag.

"Does that mean Shinichi receives more letters than you do?" she chuckled. "And what are those categories?" she asked as she put the letters she picked up into his bag.

"Yes, of course, he's more famous than I am. He's known in different regions of Japan, that's why." He laughed proudly.

Ran raised a brow at him. "You're proud of your brother's popularity as if were your own." She smiled at the weird idea.

"Uh, yeah, twins remember," was his cover as he laughed sheepishly.

They were changing their shoes as they continued the chat.

"Then how about your categories?" she asked.

"Well, it's quite hard to explain. It's too complicated that even I can't explain it."

She laughed. "You do have your own weirdness too, Kaito."

"You're one to talk," he replied smiled. "Say, have you ever given a fan mail to my brother?"

His question instantly boiled her to redness. "W-Why? Do you really think I should give him one?" She fiddled with her index fingers and stuttered, "S-sonoko keeps on telling me that too... and then you, you gave me the pen and scented paper that time but I refused to write… do you really think I should give him a letter? But I don't know what I should write~" She looked at him with her confused child expression.

He laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing." He stood up and went out ahead, smiling. "You shouldn't be worrying about that right now. Focus on your karate."

#######

For the week that passed, Ran had been training hard. Shinichi accompanied her most of the time – sometimes she just tagged him along and sometimes it was him who volunteered, still believing that she is a trouble-magnet. Kaito and Aoko, on the other hand, also had an everyday rehearsal for the play, keeping the twins from becoming their original self.

Of course, the karate pair still bought Ran's energy drink, her green tea and sometimes Shinichi's lemon tea, too. Fortunately, they did not meet any trouble during Ran's training period. However on the day before the match…

"Oh, Kudo-kun!" Kogoro greeted when he spotted Shinichi down their stairs right after he locked his office. He went down but stopped abruptly to ask, "Wait, are you that props-making one, not that detective one?"

The lad nodded, smiling sheepishly. In his mind, however, _'I am both, actually.'_

"Well, I have to hurry to somewhere. If you're waiting for Ran, you can go wait for her upstairs." He looked at the dim sky. "It looks like it's going to rain, anyway."

He just nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Ojisan"

"Take care of Ran, okay?" Kogoro called a cab and left.

Shinichi went up to the Mouri house and knocked but nobody answered. Although the door was unlocked, he decided to wait there by the stairs.

Ran, on the other hand was in her room, prepping up after taking a bath. A car passed by on the street outside of her window and it was honking with all its might at the exact same time Shinichi knocked, that's why she was not able to hear him.

The two of them planned to go to the temple nearby because Ran found out that she can train some more and then meditate there, with the beautiful but relaxing ambience.

At first she was relaxed but when her cell phone received a message, she learned that Kaito was already at their stairs, so she hastened up. She left her body lotion in the CR so she had to go back there and forget to lock the door when she returned. Due to panic, she dropped her comb without noticing it and in one particular second of that time, she accidentally stepped on it and her foot slipped, "Ahhhhh!" and she fell seated on the floor.

Having heard her scream, Shinichi dashed to where it came from, disregarding the proper etiquette stuff and prioritizing her safety instead.

He quickly opened Ran's unlocked door but instead of grave danger, something else surprised him.

He was standing by the open door, eyes wide and mouth left open, while she was seated on the floor dressed only with her pink lingerie. It took them some time to realize the situation, and when they did, his eyes shrank into mere dots and she screamed and slapped him on impulse.

He was knocked down but was able to crawl out of the room – crawling for his life. Ran, on the other hand, pushed the door close the moment he cleared the way. Both of them were panting heavily as they stood back to back on both sides of the door.

"Argh, what have I done now?" Ran muttered to herself. "That was so embarrassing." She hid her red face in her palms. "Wait, I guess I don't have to worry about that, Kaito is quite used to my embarrassing moments, I'm sure that wasn't such a big deal for him… or is it?"

"Uwaa~~" She pressed her cheeks with her palm. "Calm down… Now I have to dress up quickly then forget about it as if nothing just happened- Ow!" She felt pain when she took a step.

"Ran, is everything alright? Are you hurt?" Shinichi asked, despite the embarrassment he was feeling.

"I'm alright, Kaito. But… I think I sprained my ankle," she tried to sound normal, though her face was still flushed.

"Would you mind telling me where I can find your first aid kit? I'll bring it there once you're done. Just sit there and try not to move too much," he instructed in a very polite and calm tone.

"It's in the leftmost compartment in the kitchen shelf," she replied. She was baffled when no one replied. She then slowly opened the door and took a peek. When she heard sounds from the kitchen, she quickly closed the door, made sure it was locked and then dressed up as quickly as possible, hopping with one foot so as not to hurt her sprained ankle more.

After completely getting dressed with a simple black jogging pants and light blue shirt combination (she originally planned to wear pink but refused to so as not to remind any of them about what happened), she unlocked her door and sat on her bed, lying her left foot straight on it.

Shinichi knocked and asked, "May I enter now?"

"Yes."

He slowly opened the door and approached her immediately. He placed the things he was holding on the floor and checked her left ankle. He lifted it a bit, and she gave no reaction. He tried pressing the joint and her eyes twitched.

Without a word said, he started applying first aid on her ankle. He folded up the bottom of her pants and placed a white handkerchief-wrapped pack of ice on her left ankle. With his swift moves, he sat on the bed and placed her foot on his lap and he continued applying the ice on it. He gently moved the ice pack as if massaging her ankle very softly.

All the while, she was staring at what he was doing with her foot, but when she took a glance of his face, her heart skipped a beat upon seeing _'Shinichi?'_

She shook her head and pointed out to herself that it was just Shinichi's twin brother, looking down at her foot, his hair falling down to his eyes, just somewhat resembling Shinichi's hairstyle.

He sensed her movement and looked at her. "Does it hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." She smiled shyly.

"Um, about earlier-" they both spoke at the same time.

"You go ahead," he said, smiling gently.

"Um, I'm sorry I slapped you really hard earlier…" She bit her lip and clasped her nervous fingers together. She was looking at him but he was looking at her foot. When he looked at her, she looked to the left. "I was just shocked and my hand sort of moved on its own."

"It's ok." He smiled. "It was my fault. I entered your room _and_ your house without your permission. I'm so sorry about that." He looked down and tried NOT to recall what he saw. He then turned back on massaging her ankle with the ice pack.

"It was my fault, I forgot to lock my door," she admitted.

"And next time, please do lock the entrance door when you're alone in your house." He smiled at her and she smiled back at him.

"And sorry you had to use your hanky to mend me." She looked at the ice pack.

He chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that."

He then set aside the ice pack, "I guess that would be enough," took the bath towel lying on her bed, gently dried her ankle with it and took the bandage he brought to wrap her injury. He tried his best not to hurt her ankle as he bandaged it.

"There, it's done." He placed her foot back on the bed, stood up and went behind her.

She turned around to see what he was doing. He was setting up the pillows and leaned them onto the bed board. Then he lifted her up a little, which really surprised her, and moved her to the pillows where she could lean her back onto while resting. "Try taking a rest for now."

He then took some big books from her shelf and said, "Sorry for messing up with your things," before placing them on top of each other on her bed. He took the last pillow he reserved and placed it above the books and then placed her left foot on top of the arrangement.

"Hey, remember that I can still move here, okay?" she mocked, moving her other three limbs. "You've taken care of me too much Mr. Doctor. Sit here." She gestured to the space on her right.

He complied and sat next to her now that he has finished putting aside the bowl with the ice and the bandage roll.

"There, now I have something to lean my head on when I fall asleep," she stated, laughing softly.

"So you were just planning to use me, how evil," he remarked with a smirk.

"Thanks for your help, Kaito," she said softly as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Don't mention it," he simply replied.

"Your shoulder smells so good," she said weakly.

"Your hair is, too," he smiled.

He knew quite well that she was worried about her match the next day, but he decided not to remind her about it and think of a solution on his own.

She was indeed worried about her match but the comfort of his shoulder and the silence of the afternoon slowly doze her off to sleep.

"I will guard you while you sleep. No more worries now, okay?" was the last thing she heard from his soft voice.

##############

To be continued

##############

**AN: **Hello everyone! Thank you for waiting and I'm really sorry it took half a year long. :c

But I hope this long chapter can make it up for the long wait ^_^;

Thank you to all who gave their reviews last time! I guess I have replied to all except for TaijiyaSango23, yasmin, jkkkk, and Haruka-chan, so thank you for your reviews! =D

To all your encouragements by asking me where Chapter 11 is, thank you, hehehe ^^

And for adding Twins to your favorites and alert list, thank you ^^ and for those who added me to their favorite author list, too, thank you ehehe ^_^;

Hope you're still up for a review for this chapter :p Thanks for reading Twins! ^.^

This message is full of thank you's, isn't it? Haha =P

**Next Chapter:**

What will happen to Ran's karate match?

Will she fight or forfeit?

Who will be the hero, Kaito or Shinichi?

And how many boxes of drinks can you order from a manufacturing company without them getting angry with you?

Find out on the next chapter.

=P


	12. Energy Drink

**AN: **So sorry for the very long wait, my dear readers T.T but I really want to finish this fic no matter what, so I did my best to update this chap even if it's just little by little.. #_#

This chapter involves a karate national match actually, and I am not so familiar on how it is held (I sort of used the martial arts tournament in Dragon Ball Z and Tekken as a guide XD but then the movie Karate Kid also gave me an idea about the rules XD so I hope you can bear with me, hehehe XP

Hope you enjoy this chappie! ^_^

The ones surrounded by many worms and some sharps # (#~~~~~#~~~~~#) above and below are flashbacks, alrighty? :p

Grab a snack and a drink first, because it's going to take a while~ ;)

**#######**

**Chapter 12: Energy Drink**

The day has finally arrived.

The ever glamorous-though-ordinarily-dressed Kudo twins were walking their way towards the nearest train station. Their destination was none other than Matsumoto, a city in Nagano Prefecture where the National Interschool Karate Tournament is going to be conducted.

As they strolled, the younger twin had been enthusiastically looking around, as if everything they passed by tapped his interest. Meanwhile, the older one had been staring ahead seriously, with his hands placed inside his jacket pockets, as if walking really requires that much concentration.

"You okay, Chichi?" Kaito suddenly spoke; excitement was obviously steaming out of him.

"Where in the world did you get that name?" Shinichi raised a brow at him, his lips in a half-hearted smile.

The younger one merely replied with a childish grin.

Silence reccured between the two, leading Kaito into the idea of cheering up his might-be-sad-for-some-reason brother.

Having no other instant ideas in mind, he tried the cutesy acts and started singing in a random tune while marching like a toy soldier, "I'm going to watch Ran~ beat up all the people~ I'm going to watch Ran~ beat up all the people~ I'm going to watch Ran~~"

Shinichi accepts the fact that his brother definitely has a damn lovely voice, but the lyrics of his song - not to mention the repetition of those lines - was somehow disturbing for him! But it was indeed effective in diverting his mind from his previous thoughts, as he tried to think of ways to stop his brother.

This went on for a while until the happy-thoughts-filled Kaito remembered, "Hey, I haven't told you about my plan with Aoko yet!" In a snap, he was like an excited puppy with a wagging tail and hanging tongue. As he stuck his face in front of his brother, his fists were shaking in front of his chest as more excitement molecules reached his brain. His exceptionally enthusiastic expression made his brother realize that he really had to listen or else the younger one might die with excitement overflow.

"What plan?" Shinichi finally replied, smiling very weakly.

Upon hearing his brother's show of interest, Kaito jumped away from him and started his flashback.

"You see, I've done a lot of my schemes already but this is one particular event yesterday..."

#~~~~~#~~~~~#

_It was afternoon in Teitan High gym, and we were practicing the entrance and positions of the characters in the play when I heard my Aoko said,_

_"Hey, Kudou-kun! I don't care if you're fond of carpets, you're wasting my time! Come back here!"_

_Those were her sweet words of affection before she threw a basketball at me. Luckily, I was able to dodge right before it hit my face._

#~~~~~#~~~~~#

"What were you doing with a carpet anyway?" Shinichi butted in.

"I was just walking on that wide carpet back and forth, and rubbing my feet with it." Kaito replied, snickering, before he continued his narration.

#~~~~~#~~~~~#

_So anyway, since she was also standing on that carpet, I told her to do the same. As I approached her, I poked her, which then caused a noticeable amount of electricity to flow through us._

_To my surprise, she said "Kyaa!" and it was sooooo cute! Then she hit my upper arm on impulse._

_I smiled mischievously after that, which irritated her more._

_"What?" she said with an annoyed tone._

_"You felt it didn't you?" My smile grew even naughtier that I sounded like Happy when I said, "Wwwwwe had a ssssssparrrrrk~"_

_She looked like she knew that was coming. She slapped her forehead and explained, "That was just because of electrostatic discharge and friction! When you rubbed your feet with the carpet, you became negatively charged, and then we had contact, then your electrons flowed to me because I had positive charges, and then we sort of neutralized each other's charges, that's why you also felt my charges flow to you, something like that, but that's not exactly what happened because positive charges don't actually move because they are just remnants of the departure of the electrons." She sighed after her long geeky explanation and said, "You get it now?" _

_She looked a bit embarrassed, having explained all that scientific stuff, but my face and voice remained as naughty as before which caused her to look irritated again._

_"No, you llllllllike me~ That's why there was a ssssssparrrk~"_

_Of course it aggravated her more, causing her to grab the nearest mop and chase me with it._

_Her face was quite reddish as she tried several times to hit me with the mop - I don't know if that was because there was truth to my statement or because she was really steaming with anger that time._

_#~~~~~_#~~~~~#

Kaito laughed, looking so childish and free. Any girl would be drooling when they see that, and actually there were fan girls at the sides of the street, doing their usual job – drooling over and taking snap shots of the Kudo twins.

"So that's what the frequent mop chases I've been hearing are all about," Shinichi couldn't help but smile, and it was also a picture-perfect view for their female-stalkers.

"It just ends up like that," replied the seemingly seriously-bothered sneering Kaito. "I don't know why the mops in the gym are always that handy." His forehead creased. "But it's fun, actually." A childish smile quickly made its way onto his lips.

"I didn't know you were that masochistic. Is that really your plan, to be Nakamori's punching bag?" Shinichi kidded, chuckling.

"No!~~" He stopped walking just to emphasize how big of a NO it was. "My plan is to get to know her well, remember? And this time, I plan to do it by being a major nuisance to her." Kaito looked very confident. He continued walking as he added, "That way, I will discover many things about her including her cute reactions, and getting that close while being a nuisance won't lead her into developing some feelings for the wrong 'me', right?" He smirked.

Shinichi snickered. "But you should remember," he turned a bit serious, "doing those schemes will definitely prevent her from liking me, but that doesn't guarantee that she will like you instead."

"Of course I am aware of that," the younger one quickly replied, still smiling confidently. "I'm not yet planning to take the next step. I really want to just get to know her right now. Know what she likes and what she doesn't, what makes her mad -the cute one that is- and what makes her really mad, and other stuff there is to know. Then, I will make my move once the play is done and we're back to normal." He grinned at his twin.

"Tsk, you're really complicating your story," Shinichi remarked while smirking and shaking his head slowly. Then, without a minute passing, he was focusing his gaze again on the ground. In an instant, he was back to how he was a few minutes ago.

Seeing his brother staring deep into the cemented ground as they walked, Kaito sensed some anxiety from him despite the cool expression he was still wearing. He decided to finally ask him what was wrong. "Do you have something to share with your twin?" he asked in a very hospitable tone.

Shinichi chuckled making his brother flash an annoyed expression. Kaito being that concerned and nice was not a usual thing for Shinichi to see or hear, so he decided to tell him what was bothering him.

Shinichi sighed deep before starting, "Yesterday, I went to Ran's place to accompany her to a temple nearby as she requested. She wanted to train and meditate there in preparation for her match..."

He narrated what happened the previous day, trying not to give much description on the embarrassing parts.

_~~~narration~~~_

_~~~narration~~~_

_~~~narration~~~_

Kaito's eyes grew as wide as they can be. "Wwwhat? You saw Ran wearing only her un-"

"Shhhh!" Shinichi quickly covered his brother's mouth, leaving no free hands to cover his blushing face. "It's not like I wanted to! I told you it was just an accident!"

"Bwuh whuh awuh suh awuh-vuh?" Kaito was so full of questions that he couldn't wait to be released before speaking.

Surprisingly, Shinichi understood what his brother said. As he let go of his twin, he answered, "I'm still alive because she wasn't able to break my bones or at least throw some deadly stuff to me." The grim expression he was wearing disappeared when he rolled his eyes away from Kaito in a distasteful manner, saying, "Well, she slapped me really hard, but she apologized later on." He shrugged.

"Girls do that when they get surprised and they don't like it," Kaito explained, holding his laughter in.

"Yeah," Shinichi lazily replied. He then unconsciously recalled how surprised Ran looked like that time, and realizing what he was doing made him shake his head violently to literally shake off the idea.

Upon seeing his brother's movements, Kaito immediately gave him a head-whack, helping him to literally drop his thoughts. "Baka, don't think of nasty things about Ran!"

"I wasn't!" Shinichi defended, but he couldn't help but smile at the thought that he was being suspected. "I only imagined her face and it stopped right there, I swear!"

"Oh yeah? Then what was the color of her undies?"

"Pink."

*another head whack*

"Hey!"

"You see?" Kaito crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head in frustration. "I can't believe my twin is such a pervert..."

"I'm just naturally observant! That's all!"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Shinichi couldn't do anything but to sulk at a corner - hugging his knees while rocking back and forth as he poked the wall. "I really didn't do it~ and I'm older than him but he keeps on hitting my head~ Where's justice when you need it~ mou~"

Kaito merely gave the sight a half-hearted smile. "So how can she fight today if she's injured?" Kaito's question brought both of them back to seriousness.

Shinichi was, in no time, beside his twin again when he started explaining, "Well, after I gave her first aid yesterday..."

*flashback*

_#~~~~~_#~~~~~#

_While she was sleeping on my shoulder, I used your phone to look for ways on how to quickly heal a sprain. Thanks to 4G, hehe... Anyway, I knew she would not let that sprain stop her from participating in the national tournament. I remember clearly how serious she was in her trainings and every time she talked about the tournament, she seemed excited… so I hope I can help out a little._

_That afternoon, we did all those instructions posted online by experts and experienced people. Then after hours of rest and treatment, she was already using her left foot to see how much movement it can handle. By evening, it looked normal again and she could walk without difficulty._

#~~~~~#~~~~~#

"Now that's more like the Ran I know!"

"But still, I'm worried about her. I mean, what if she was just forcing herself or just letting me see that she's okay when she's actually not?" was Shinichi's concern.

Kaito shook his head slowly as a sign of disagreement. "As Kaito, you should not underestimate Ran." He patted his brother's shoulder before continuing, "Ran has been through a lot of injuries, slips, and other embarassing physical stuff-stuff, and never has it affected her." He snickered. "And besides," he added, now with a more serious tone, "she knows that I can tell when she's troubled or in pain, so she knows that there is no point if she would try to hide it from me."

His brother's words lightened Shinichi's worries a bit. "Alright then," he said, flashing a quick smile.

They then arrived at the train station and immediately bought tickets. While waiting for the train to arrive, the older twin suddenly remembered, "Oh, we agreed that if ever her sprained ankle cause her pain again today, that's the only time that I- I mean, _you_ would tell her parents about it. She had me promise that."

"Hai hai!" Kaito's reply was barely audible because of the sound of the just-arrived train. But with his thumbs-up gesture and his wide smile, one could tell it's a yes. "Worry no more, 'kay Chichi?" He playfully reassured before they entered the train.

#######

Meanwhile, in the locker room of Matsumoto Sports Dome...

"I hope I can get through this day without any problem..." Ran whispered to herself. She was bent down, touching the surface of her left ankle as she was seated on a bench. There was still a little hint of swelling but it did not look like an injury at all.

She slowly tried heel and toe raises and it was manageable. She then stood up and tried to gradually put her weight on her left foot and it was also a success.

She sighed as she sat down. "Kaito said, as long as I don't do twisting or pivoting movements with my left foot, it'll be ok…" she muttered to herself while gently slipping her left foot in an elastic ankle brace. "Well, this thing will do the trick." She smiled. "I still have to be careful, though."

After wearing the other ankle brace on her right foot, she sighed and leaned her back on the wall.

"Shinichi will be watching today... I hope I don't screw up in front of him..."

She was too worried about her crush to remember her embarrassing experience the previous day.

Her face gradually turned red from bottom to top, as she imagined how handsome he would look when he bids her goodluck with a heart-melting smile.

_'What if he taps my shoulder as he wishes me goodluck?' _She imagined so, and her heart raced at that instant. "Stop it, Mouri Ran! You're making yourself nervous!" She cupped her warm cheeks with her cold palms.

#######

It was only less than an hour before the tournament starts. The audience were filling in almost all the bleachers while staff personnel were setting up the tables and chairs for the technical judges and announcers.

Meanwhile, the main entrance of the dome was also crowded as a huge wave of people all came at the same time. Nevertheless, the queue was fast enough and was perfectly peaceful until a girl screamed, "Kudo Shinichi and Kudo Kaito are here!"

It was followed by consequent screams and the usual dreamy-drools and the classic fan-girl box-out technique- Or circle-out, to be exact.

"Kaito-sama, can I have your authograph on my K.I.D. album?"

"Shinichi-sama, please take a picture with me!"

"Kaito-san, what's your next song going to be?"

"Shinichi-san, can I be your assistant in solving crimes?"

"Kaito-sama, I love youuuu!"

"Shinichi-sama, marry meeeee!"

Watching the two lads who couldn't do anything but just smile and sign and smile at the camera, the two male officials handling the tickets said, "Kids these days~" One of them even added, "Good thing they are taller than those girls, or else they could've been knocked down and who knows what those girls could do to them." They both chuckled before noticing, "Hey, where's Ayako?" The other one pointed towards the fan crowd where a girl in her 30's, holding a pen and paper, was also trying to get closer to the center. Seeing this left the two men sweatdropping in disbelief.

After a few minutes of struggling to get to the ticket-checking desk without anyone getting harmed, the Kudo twins were finally able to go inside the establishment. There they quickly found Ran and Sonoko waiting for them.

"Are you guys alright?" Ran was concerned but was still chuckling about what happened.

"I think I'm still the whole me," Kaito replied, laughing while looking left-right-down at his body.

"Hey, you have a kiss mark on your cheek!" Sonoko pointed at the lipstick smudge on Kaito's left cheek.

Ran and Shinichi also checked and giggled after seeing it.

"One of the girls jumped to reach my cheek, it wasn't my fault!" Kaito defended shaking his head and raising his palms, hinting innocence.

"You two sure have your own way of cutting in lines," Sonoko remarked, smirking.

"No, I swear~" Kaito couldn't help but smile, as he continued to explain.

Ran was just laughing at them, while Shinichi's mind wandered.

_'So this is how they are when they are together.' _He looked at the smiling and laughing faces of the three._ 'They really seem close and natural with each other.'_

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Ran now standing right in front of him. She was already wearing her karate uniform. She bowed down once and then said, "Thank you for coming over to watch, Sh-Shinichi-san"

He was a bit surprised but his expression was quickly replaced by a calm and cool smile when he said, "You shouldn't be thanking me_. _Thank _you_ for the tickets._" _He flashed his handsomest grin.

Having been smiled at like that, Ran wanted to burst with happiness but she couldn't. Her cheeks managed to let out a warm blush and it was good thing for her that Shinichi didn't notice it. This worth-dying-for chance of a face-to-face conversation with him was giving her a system overload but she was good enough not to let her fast heartbeat make her say or do embarrassing things.

"Goodluck on your matches later. I hope you don't strain yourself too much." Shinichi's sweet tone and the very high-spirited smile that came with it was the trigger that brought Ran to her melting point.

Dreamily staring at him while the time passed by in milliseconds, she thought, _'Shinichi~ He said matches... That means he believes I can win the first one and proceed to the next!~ ^o^ and he told me not to strain myself... He's just so handsome and caring, oh my!~ ^o^'_

"By the way," his voice brought her back to her senses. "Shinichi-san is too... polite." He rubbed his cheek with a finger out of shyness. "Just call me Shinichi… or Shinichi-kun, if you're not comfortable calling me by just my first name." He smiled earnestly before his cell phone rang, which caused him to excuse himself out of their conversation. But before he walked away, he told her, "I hope I can call you 'Ran' in return." He smiled at the eagerly nodding, seemingly-hypnotized girl before he left. _'And that saves me from having to call her different names when I'm Kaito and when I'm myself. Less chances of getting caught, hehehe,'_ he thought.

Ran was left standing on the same place, her eyes still swirling with happiness. "Shinnnnniiiiiiichiiiiiii-kuuuuuuunnnnnnn~" she mumbled to herself. "He's officially going to call me Ran from now onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn~~~"

"Come on Ran, you have to get ready." Sonoko dragged her away but it didn't stop her from being in the dreamy state.

#######

Kaito, Shinichi and Sonoko arrived at their seats and there they saw Kogoro alone between empty seats trying to figure out how Ran's digicam works.

"What took you guys so long?" Kogoro asked.

Sonoko just grinned. When she sat down, one seat apart from Kogoro, the latter recognized Kaito, who was behind her, and greeted him along with putting an arm on the lad's shoulder. He even bothered to stand up just to do it. "How're you doing, kid!"

Kaito sweat-dropped, as he merely smiled in confusion. He knew Ran's father but they were never that close for him to give such greeting.

Kogoro then noticed the other one who looked like the one beside him and his smile quickly turned upside down. "Oh, it's the detective show-off punk!"

Shinichi sweat-dropped as well. He bowed his head and smiled a little, then quickly made his way to the empty seat farthest from Kogoro.

"So you really are twins with that guy huh?" Kogoro asked Kaito, as if their subject did not hear him.

Kaito nodded.

"You look so much alike but you two sure have opposite personalities," Kogoro commented flatly before sitting down.

Kaito wore a confused smiling face as he also sat down. _'Whatever happened between us two,' _he glanced at Kogoro. _'And between you two,' _he then looked at Shinichi. _'I'm pretty sure it was all your fault, brother.'_

Shinichi coincidentally met his eyes and merely gave him a mischievous smile as if knowing what he was thinking.

Kaito's attention was then called by his seatmate, Kogoro who whispered to him, "I trust that you did nothing inappropriate with my daughter yesterday, mister."

Kaito sweat-dropped and said, ''Of course, Occhan!'' In his mind, he tried to shake away the fact that his twin brother acting as him saw Ran very defenseless the previous day.

Sonoko, on the other hand, who was sitting between Kaito and Shinichi, suddenly called the latter. "Hey, I exchanged tickets with Kaito so I can sit beside you for an interview."

Shinichi was taken aback. "Interview about what?"

"Everything about the famous Kudo Shinichi." She was gliding her hand in the air and her chin was up and proud as she spoke.

"You could've just asked my brother about the things you want to know," Shinichi replied lazily. He was expecting another noisy experience with Sonoko.

"But there are questions only _you_ could answer," she stated, smirking.

"Do you plan on selling this interview article or make a blog about it or something?" Shinichi asked, not intending to be smug though his tone was.

"Of course not!" She laughed. "It's all for my best friend." Then she warned, moving closer to his face, "Don't think that she's cheating the race to win you okay?" She then rested her back on the seat as she continued, "It's all my idea, and I'm not going to tell her everything I would learn about you, I would just guide her in making the right decisions in the future." She laughed like a maniac, indulging on the greatness of her idea.

"Oh brother~" He sighed, knowing he had no choice but to be an interviewee sooner or later.

A few minutes later, a woman, wearing a corporate skirt-and-blazer attire with her long brown attractively wavy hair, came by and she seemed to be looking for her seat.

"Ojou-san, sit here!" Kogoro called, his usual way of being so accommodating towards beautiful girls.

When the woman turned around, both of them got surprised to see "You?"

It turned out to be no one else but Kisaki Eri. She sat down at that seat next to the aisle, the one beside Kogoro.

"Why are you sitting there?" he grumpily asked, not bothering to look at her and his arms crossed on his chest.

"My ticket says I'm supposed to sit here," she replied coolly, not looking at him either. "If I had known earlier, I would have bought my own ticket, you know."

"Why don't you buy one now?"

"Tickets are all sold out."

"You're just saying that."

"Oh come on, don't think highly of yourself, Mr. Handsome-detective-who-I-want-to-sit-beside-with," she said sarcastically.

He faced her to say, "You're one to talk. Look at you, at your age, you are dressed up like you're planning to seduce someone. This is a stadium, not a trial court, by the way."

She also faced him, now with a popping vein on her forehead. "You're the one who's flirty at your age! Calling out women to sit next to you... I'm sorry if I look young and attractive even from behind."

"Why you..."

The two continued to bicker that the young ones couldn't help but talk about them.

"Looks like Ran has set up her parents again." Sonoko muffled an evilish laugh. "She sure uses every opportunity she sees."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be so happy when she sees them this way - making up for the lost argue times." Kaito chuckled.

Shinichi got a bit confused and interested that he asked, "Why? What's with Ran's parents?"

Sonoko replied, "They are separated, that's why Ran always tries to set them up to be together."

"Oh..." Shinichi nodded. _'So that's why she's used to cooking dinner and doing household stuff all by herself. Good thing I didn't ask where her mom was that time.'_ He was referring to the time when he was making the props with Ran and Kogoro. _'I would have been discovered otherwise.' _He smirked.

"I assume you know the reason why," Kaito kidded.

"Yeah." Shinichi glanced at the bickering couple. "No doubt."

"Sonoko-chan."

The three's attention was then drawn towards Eri and she continued, "Sonoko-chan, can we exchange seats, please? This old man is extremely annoying."

"Who are you calling old man, you wrinkled obaa-chan!" Kogoro remarked, though he did not bother to look at her. His eyes were on other people; he was observing people, something like a mind training for detectives which was also what Shinichi started doing at the moment.

"Aw, Auntie, I wanted to interview Shinichi-kun~" Sonoko whined.

"Sonoko, don't worry there's something interesting here for you." Eri smirked.

Sonoko looked at the direction Eri was pointing - the other side of the aisle, "A hottie!" Sonoko mumbled to herself, and in an instant, she was already sitting on Eri's seat.

"You're too old to be eyeing on hotties, Auntie," Kogoro mocked. "And to think you'd want to sit between those two boys... I really can't believe what you have become, tsk tsk tsk."

Suddenly, a pouch hit his head.

"Noisy old geezer." Eri scowled as she sat on Sonoko's seat.

The twins were both astounded with the sequence of events.

"Kudo twins Shinichi and Kaito, I'm Kisaki Eri, I hope you two don't mind me sitting here," she bid, looking at them each upon mentioning their names.

"How do you know which of us is which?" Shinichi asked straight away out of curiosity.

"Well, Ran has told me a lot about you two- I mean, just you, Kaito-kun," she answered, looking at Kaito at the last part. "And I've seen Kaito-kun a few times before, and I believe we, too, have met in a case before, Shinichi-kun."

But Shinichi's reply was unexpected. "Seriously," he flatly demanded, as if the explanation provided was not counted as an explanation.

"Alright, you got me." She smiled. "It was just a hunch. Of course my daughter's best friend would be sitting closer to her father than his twin brother who is actually a 'rival detective' of that old man, as what I have heard from Ran." She even gestured the quotation marks.

"Thought so." The young detective smirked. "When we met a few years before, there were twin waitresses in that cafe and you had a little mix up with their names."

Eri remembered what he was talking about. That time there were identical girls named Mikage and Tomomi who both assisted in calling the police and the ambulance and giving whatever Eri and Shinichi needed in solving the case.

"That's why I supposed that distinguishing identical twins from each other is not one of your skills." Shinichi followed.

_'It means, Ran's mom would not be a threat to our switching, right Chichi?' _Kaito thought cheerfully.

"What sharp observation skills you got there, kid!" she remarked, smiling childishly at him.

All of a sudden, a gray coat landed on Eri's lap.

"Don't disgust those kids with your sogging skin," Kogoro stated, crossing his arms on his chest. He was only wearing his white long-sleeves now.

Eri grimaced at Kogoro before spreading out the coat on her lap like a blanket. She smiled as she caressed the smooth piece of cloth. _'You still know that I easily feel cold. How thoughtful of you, dear... And gray, the warmest color, eh?' _She kept a smile to herself.

#######

The tournament started and it was the girls division that was set to go first. They will be in alternate with the boys division for every round.

(Girls' round 1, then boys' round 1, then girls' round 2, then boys' round 2 and so on.)

There were 32 players in the girls division and likewise in the boys division - those who won in the interschool karate competition of their respective prefectures.

Each participant from both divisions drew lots in front of the audience, and the number they got would decide who their opponent for the first round will be. For the girls, Number 1 will fight Number 2, Number 3 will fight number 4, and so on up to Number 31 and Number 32, and same thing applies to the other division. For the next round, whoever wins between Number 1 and Number 2 will fight the winner between Number 3 and Number 4. The same rule applies to the other following contestants. This rule goes on up to the next rounds until there are only 2 contestants remaining, which now defines the final round or championship match.

In order for the tournament not to consume a lot of time, the first and second rounds will serve as elimination rounds and in here, four matches will be conducted simultaneously. That is, in one go, the match Number 1 vs. Number 2 will be held at the same time that the matchers Number 3 vs. Number 4, Number 5 vs. Number 6 and Number 7 vs. Number 8 will be conducted by separate sets of officials for each match.

As what was flashed on the screen, Mouri Ran got the number 7, and she was bound to get on the floor for the first set of matches. She didn't know if being one of the firsts was something good or bad, but she knew she had to do her best both in the match and in keeping her injured foot safe.

The first set of matches hyped up the audience. Indeed, all the participants were the best in their field.

Ran, who got the number 7, was faced with Number 8, Yukihara Nanami from Hokkaido.

Their match started with a few attacks from Yukihara successfully blocked by Ran, as the latter was first testing her foot's capacity. When she got the right rhythm, Ran was able to give out a fast chop-kick combo which caught her opponent off guard and sent her crashing down a meter farther. This gave Ran a point and an edge because the elimination rounds were best-of-three-points battles.

Yukihara reclaimed her stance in no time and she immediately gave a quick and fiery comeback which gave the calm Ran only a few hits as she was able to dodge and block almost all of them.

Ran decided to end this match by counter-attacking one of her punches with a grab, pull, then a finishing hit on the back, causing Yukihara to face the matted floor in her defeat. This was how she usually deals with criminals who try to resist in most of the cases her father handles, however in those cases, she gives them a hit that knocks out the criminal to sleep.

"Yeah, you gave her the criminal kill I taught you! Good one, Ran!" Kogoro was obviously so proud of his daughter- and himself.

This finishing move gave Ran another point which served as her ticket to the next round.

"Amazing, the way she executed her final blow was so cool! Wearing the cool and calm face and then quickly luring her into the trap and then bang! Sugoi, Ran!" The thrilled Kaito even mimicked her last move.

"Deshou?" The proud Kogoro grinned at the lad.

Shinichi merely joined the audience in clapping their hands but an amused smile escaped his lips, as if forgetting that his real reason for being there was to see how Ran would probably break his bones if he would mess up with her.

#######

The succeeding matches of the girls went on, and it would be followed by the first round matches of the boys division.

In the meantime, Sonoko invited her companions to visit Ran at her locker room. All of them agreed immediately except for Shinichi.

"Is that...even allowed?" He protested with a completely perplexed face. "I mean, isn't that- like the girls' locker room at school?" He was stuttering a bit, scared to be faced again with something like the scene the previous day.

On the other hand, upon hearing the term "girls' locker room", Kogoro's ears stood up alert like that of a dog. A mischievous smile instantly appeared on his face. "Ran, introduce me to you karate friends out there!" and in no time, he was already out of sight.

Eri just shook her head at that scene and muttered, "Dirty old man," before she headed towards the exit as well.

Ignoring the oldies, Sonoko focused on convincing Shinichi to join them. "It's alright Shinichi-kun, their locker room can accommodate the families of all the locker users; it's so big that you can hold a party right there!"

"And their actual _changing room _is a different one, so you don't have to worry about something like yesterday." Kaito teased. Shinichi only managed to give him a glare because Sonoko was in between them.

"Why? What happened yesterday?" the curious girl asked.

"Nothing~" Kaito laughed as he left the two. His hands were at the back of his head as he walked in a lazy manner.

Sonoko just shrugged and went on with the persuasion. "Shinichi-kun, if you won't come, I won't help you~" she warned.

"Help me with what?" His face creased a bit.

"Let's just go!" She grinned, evading the question. She was actually referring to the Ran-Shinichi love team that she swore to help nourish. However, when she pulled his arm - his BARE ARM because his dark blue jacket sleeves were pulled up to the elbows - she quickly felt a stab of violent glares which brought a chill to her spine. She looked around, and smiled sheepishly afterwards. She then slowly shifted her pulling-hand onto his upper arm jacket sleeve instead and started heading towards the exit with him.

Shinichi was still clueless about Sonoko's words, and now her actions too.

"You know what," she said while running (and dragging), "You're a detective who catches murders, but your fan girls are more than murderous! You should be careful of that; you might be causing the crime rate to increase without you knowing it."

Shinichi just grinned sheepishly. He now understood why she moved her hand earlier and even made it noticeable as an emphasis. He was still wondering about the 'help' thing, though. _'Does she know about our switch?' _ He thought, telling himself to observe Sonoko from now on to see if she knew something.

#######

"Ran, that finish was so cool!" Sonoko greeted, hopping in place while grasping Ran's hands.

The latter just smiled shyly, basically because Shinichi was around. She glanced at him but quickly turned away when she found him looking at her.

_'Now that was so rude! Face him again and smile at him!' _Ran's mind ordered herself. _'But I… can't...' _She looked at him from the corner of her eye several times, while trying to make it seem like she was just fully listening to Sonoko's chain of comments. Then she decided to steal a glance of him when she couldn't stand the temptation anymore, but she ended up getting stuck staring at his face. _'I'm... mmmelting~'_

Kogoro's rough voice and his pat on her shoulder brought her back to instant reality, though. "That's my daughter!" He laughed proudly afterwards.

"You got me worried at first you know," Kaito commented, getting too comfortable in the conversation.

"Why would you be worried?" Eri quickly wondered.

"W-well, she wasn't attacking, I thought she was s-scared of her or so? Ehehe," was his lame excuse to cover his slip. He glanced at his fierce-looking brother and saw a thought balloon above his head, saying _'You're so ##%&$¿¥!'_

Kogoro saved him with his statement, "Of course that was just part of her strategy!" He laughed proudly. "You know, in any martial arts battle, you should still have a strategy, just like in any game or sports." He then pulled Kaito aside by his arm on the lad's shoulders, saying, "If you want to learn, the great Mouri Kogoro can teach you." He laughed manically once again.

"Ehehehe..." Kaito just allowed himself get dragged while sweatdropping.

"Ran~" Eri started with a motherly I'm-going-to-scold-you tone. "Did you give me the ticket to the seat next to your father on purpose?"

Ran merely grinned at her.

"You naughty little girl," the woman remarked, slightly scowling but still smiling as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Before she could express how proud she was of her daughter after passing the first round, Sonoko pulled Eri away, without even any warning. She just said, "Eri-san, I'll borrow you for a moment, someone needs a lawyer out there!" while already dragging the woman out of the room.

As a result, Ran and Shinichi were left alone - except for the other karate girls of course.

The moment Sonoko disappeared, Ran's phone received a mail saying "This is your reward for winning the first match! There's more where that came from, so do your best on the next one! ^.~"

Another mail followed, saying, "Oh, and your mom wanted to say that she's so proud of you. Sorry I had to interrupt your motherly conversation. Peace ^_^v"

"Aww~ Sonoko's really sweet but mean..." Ran mumbled to herself, smiling gently.

"What?" Shinichi walked closer to her, as an instinctive movement due to not hearing what he thought she was saying to him.

Ran was startled and she quickly hid her phone. "Oh, no, nothing, hehehe..." She looked left and right, finding a topic to talk about but she couldn't. All she managed was, "Er, it's hot in here, isn't it?" She fanned herself with her right hand.

"Yeah, but it's alright," was his quick reply, as quick as his smile. "Cold weather anyway."

_'Now what? That topic ended quickly!' _Ran scolded herself. _'And don't dare talk about heat again because you're still a bit sweaty from your fight, Ran. That would be a major turn off!' _She tried to sneakily smell herself to find out if she smells sweaty, and she was able to do so when Shinichi was looking at the lockers, observing everything about it from his place. _'Whew, good, you still smell ok,' _she sighed, relieved.

Shinichi was indeed observing the lockers but he was thinking about something else while doing so. One thing is for sure, though – he wasn't looking at the other girls, in fear of seeing another towel scene or something even worse.

It was an awkward moment for him as well because as Shinichi, he is not used to talking to Ran that much, especially being left alone by their companions just like that. He thought he was the last person fit to be left in that very place because he didn't have as much comments or message for her aside from "Congratulations, by the way," accompanied by a short warm smile, which actually made her feel fireworks bursting in her heart despite the simplicity and lack of enthusiasm of that plain remark. That he didn't know.

In addition, he was the only guy in the room so it was REALLY awkward. Though, it was not so hard to deal with, unlike Ran's current 'I-was-left-with-Shinichi' worries.

He has thought of ways to escape like saying he'll go to Kaito or he has to make a call, but he thought that it might be quite mean to intentionally leave her alone after she won her first match and got left by her parents and friends. He wouldn't want her to feel bad so he decided to stay there until one of them returns or someone she knows comes to her.

They were still standing in the middle of the room, which was one of the factors that made them uncomfortable. Ran realized this so she gathered enough confidence to say, "Let's sit there while waiting for them, Sh-shinichi-kun." He simply nodded and followed her.

While walking past some girls with Shinichi, she felt the temperature go down exponentially, giving her some shivers. It was actually another fan girl aura felt from the icy glares of the girls who wanted to be in Ran's place right now but couldn't. However, when Shinichi saw her shiver once, his sharp eyes quickly noticed the most probable cause of it - an ant crawling on Ran's neck. It was somewhat covered by her hair tied up in a pony tail, but his eyes were far better than anyone else's in terms of observing.

"Ran!" He immediately called her.

It surprised her to hear him say her name with his hard-to-describe handsome voice. Feeling giddy but happy, she slowly turned around but to her greater surprise, he touched the left side of her neck with his right index finger, which instantly froze her whole body.

It was too light to be a poke and too gentle to be a prank, that the very mysterious feeling caused her not to care why he would do something like that. The instant seemed to last for an hour as she felt her soul evaporate while a pleasant amount of electricity, instead of blood, circulated her body. Her eyes remained still, though. They were frozen to stare straight ahead, that she looked like an android that has just been switched off by Shinichi.

When he finally removed his finger, Ran felt a rush of air enter the very spot on her neck that he touched, as if that poor little spot has held its breath for so long.

"It's an ant." He smiled like an innocent child as he faced her while still holding up his finger bearing the crawling ant. He stared at the little fellow a bit before he blew it away to the side.

All the while, she was still frozen, processing the events as fast as she could.

Shinichi then realized the violation he just committed and it could be seen from his slowly widening eyes. "Oh, I-I'm sorry I touched you." He stuttered his way to an explanation. "I- It's just- Darn, I'm so stupid, I'm sorry..." He was obviously traumatized from what happened the previous day. He heaved out a sigh, not knowing the right thing to say.

"Awww~ I mean- It's alright, that ant could have bit me and who knows what might happen because of that, right? I might have suffered from ant rash or ant fever or something if you didn't save me, ehehehe..." She forced a laugh which sounded rather stupid. _'What am I saying?'_

He smiled a bit at what she said, and then added, "But still, I'm sorry for being careless." His tone was serious yet so gentle that she couldn't help but see a sparkling image of an apologetic prince with his charming voice and sincere face that Ran would want to videotape this if only she could. She was waiting for him to clasp her fists in his hands just like how she imagined the prince would do, but then, his jaw-dropping statement that followed instead was, "I'm not a p-pervert, I swear."

_'Toinks, where did that come from, Shinichi?' _ She thought, sweatdropping. (O_o)

"I mean, I just thought that I should do something before that ant bites you," he explained, hands doing random gestures. "Saving instinct, I guess."

Ran chuckled. "And value for life, Mr. Crime Scene Detective! You blew that ant away instead of flicking it, pinching it or stepping on it." An image of Kaito flicking an ant naughtily, pinching an ant mercilessly and cruelly stepping on an ant over and over flashed on her mind which made her laugh. "Your brother would have done otherwise for sure."

Shinichi laughed a little upon imagining his brother doing those things.

Ran suddenly remembered, _'Oh my God, I'm laughing with Kudo Shinichi!' _Her heart was about to explode with jumping emotions._ 'I even made him laugh! And he laughs so handsomely! I'm sooooooo happy I could die right now~ oh, but please don't, I still have a match later and I'm still planning to reunite my family one day, ehehe.'_

Unbeknownst to them, a few meters away was Sonoko, peaking from the small opening she managed to make with the door. From there, she was videotaping Ran and Shinichi using her cell phone.

"Hey, what is that for?" the just-arrived Kaito asked, imitating her sneaky hiding out of instinct.

"Shhh! My Christmas gift for Ran… a compilation of these" She snickered.

"Baka, why not ask for my help? I can give you a lot of Shinichi goodies for her, you know!" he remarked proudly, smirking.

"Baka! It wouldn't be my special gift if I won't gather them myself," she stated confidently, still video-recording without interruption.

Kaito remained silent for a while. She then noticed him thinking, and gave him a slap on the upper arm. "Hey, don't copy my idea! Give her something else!"

He just laughed conceitedly. "Alright, I'll give her Shinichi himself for Christmas. You'll see." He kept on laughing while she just made a face at him.

#######

After about half-an-hour of rest, talking with family and friends, getting crazy about her crush and some warm up routines, it was now time for Ran's next match as round two of the girls division started.

As part of the first set of four matches yet again, she was to fight with Number 5, Nekozawa Mai of Kanagawa Prefecture.

With only a second passing after they made their bows, Nekozawa immediately gave Ran chain attacks, causing the latter to step back for every hit she barely blocked. Nekozawa, however, made a fake on one of her attacks – it should have been a left punch but when Ran dodged towards the right, she received the real right punch from her opponent that hit her left shoulder. She lost her balance for a second but was able to prevent herself from falling down.

'_Wow, she's on fire.'_ Ran was enjoying the challenge. She was a bit anxious, though, because her opponent gained a point.

"Raaaaan! Ganbatte!" Sonoko's cheer sounded a bit worried.

Kaito noticed that Ran was smiling so he concluded, "Ran won't let us down. That's for sure."

After the referee gave the go signal, Nekozawa did not waste any time and attacked Ran again.

'_Hasty, aren't we?' _Ran thought as she blocked the familiar yet modified chain attack.

Then after waiting for the right timing, Nekozawa's right-left punch came out again and Ran seized this chance by slapping down both of the former's fists and quickly giving her a right-foot kick from the side. The stumbling Nekozawa was able to prop herself with her palms on the floor, but their judges announced this as a point for Mouri Ran.

"Nice one, Ran!" Eri and Kogoro cheered at the same time, coincidentally. They looked at each other as a result and one made a silly face while one stuck her tongue out.

Now having equal points, the two girls stood up on their fighting stance. They were looking intently at each other, as if mentally asking who would attack first.

As expected, the ferocious Nekozawa took the initiative again. She gave a few punches that Ran was able to redirect with her palms, and then a side kick that Ran was able to block with an arm. After having been stopped by Ran's block, Nekozawa jumped a meter back to prepare another powerful kick, and this time she was planning a front kick.

Ran was able to read her move barely in time that Nekozawa's foot was already touching the former's stomach when she caught it with her hands. Planning a counter attack, Ran grabbed the foot firmly, lifted it and then gave it a push-twist combination, which were all done in just a second. Of course this made Nekozawa fall seated on the mat, granting Ran the point she needed to reach the third round.

Shinichi's companions were all rejoicing unlike him, who still watched the after-the-fight scene. He smiled when he saw Ran help her opponent to get up, just like what she did in her previous match. _'She sure is nice,'_ he thought as he watched her lower her head to her opponent.

#######

Ran had about 15 minutes to spare before the next round begins. This limited time was spent once more with her family and friends since they preferred visiting her and it was not a problem at all for the girl.

Sad to say that during this break time, Ran did not have another moment with Shinichi. Kogoro was too ecstatic to be dragged away from his daughter, and in the last few minutes remaining, he told them all to give Ran some time to warm up for the next fight. It was either he was really that enthusiastic about Ran's tournament or he has realized that Sonoko was planning on letting her daughter have a talk with Mr. Show-off Detective again and he totally opposed that idea.

"Mou, Kaito, I wasn't able to give her my reward…" Sonoko whined as they were walking away from the locker room.

Kaito just laughed at her saying, "My gift would be better than yours anyway, you don't have to bother yourself." She just scowled at him as a response.

Meanwhile, Shinichi, who was behind them all, saw a vending machine of drinks at the side and stopped when he noticed that it had Ran's favorite TeaZee Green Tea. Having heard the word 'reward' from Sonoko, he has thought of giving her a bottle of it, all out of generosity and not anything else. _'Perhaps it can be some sort of an encouragement.'_ His lips curved into a small smile.

However, when he approached the machine, Kaito came to pull him away protectively, saying, "Don't follow any of Sonoko's orders, okay?" and letting the girl beside him hear what he said. "I must preserve my gift for it to be better than _anyone else's_," he added, emphasizing the last two words, before laughing.

Sonoko just punched him lightly on the upper arm as she scowled once again.

#######

It was then time for the third round. Again, the girls division would go first and would be followed by the boys division.

In this round, only eight contestants were remaining in each division, so it was part of the rules that from this point onward, one match will be held at a time, giving the spotlight to these contestants who were worthy enough to reach the third round, which was also known as the quarter finals.

The stage/ring was set up in a matter of minutes and Ran was, yet again, one of the first participants to step on it, as her battle with Number 4, Yamaguchi Keiko of Osaka, was the first on the list.

'_This part never fails to make me nervous,' _Ran thought upon setting foot on the ring. Her heart was beating fast, out of both tension and excitement.

After the two contestants gave their bows, the referee signaled the start of their match.

Even though both of them were in their fighting stance, no movement has been made for the few seconds that have passed. Apparently, they were reading each other and waiting for the enemy to make the first move.

Deciding to initiate this time, Ran rushed towards her opponent along with a couple of punches. Yamaguchi was fast enough to block all of Ran's attacks, and in no time, she was the one attacking. Nevertheless, this was no problem for Ran as she was at par with her in terms of agility.

"Ganbatte, Ran!" Sonoko yelled in the middle of the excited crowd.

When Ran got tired of being in the defense, she turned to her left and launched a middle side kick right after she pushed away one of Yamaguchi's punches. With the kick being average in terms of the force applied, it just caused Osaka's representative to take a few steps backwards.

She was about to attack Ran again, but to her surprise, she saw the Tokyo girl run towards her and fire her middle flying kick follow-up.

Upon Yamaguchi's drop, the referee declared a point for Ran.

Now blazing for revenge as she stood up, Yamaguchi did not waste any second and aimed a front kick to Ran, but the latter was able to dodge it easily. It was followed by consecutive punches and chops yet again from Yamaguchi.

As Ran tried her best to either dodge or block the attacks, she noticed something about her opponent.

'_She's nervous! And pressured… Having lost a point must have gotten her this nervous and now she's attacking randomly…'_

Unbelievably, Shinichi had the same observations, which Sonoko, who was beside him again, heard him mutter.

"Is that so?" the brunette glanced at him and then yelled to Ran again, "Ran! Go for it, seize the chance!"

Ran pondered on what to do as she continued on her defense. She didn't want to be as mean as taking advantage of her opponent's weakness because for her, it would be more fulfilling if her opponent was at her best when she fights her.

A good idea then reached her and she immediately jumped away from her opponent. She took a couple more steps backwards which bewildered Yamaguchi a bit. Then, Ran relaxed her arms onto the sides and she demonstrated a few rounds of the inhale-exhale stress-remover technique. She wanted to tell her to get rid of the pressure and stress first before they continue fighting, and this reached Yamaguchi successfully as she smiled before imitating Ran's actions.

'_Now that's more like it!' _Ran smiled at Yamaguchi and the latter smiled back. In a matter of seconds, they were both heading towards each other again.

Yamaguchi gave out a high kick with her left foot aiming for Ran's face, but the latter eluded smoothly. It was followed by a middle reverse roundhouse kick with Yamaguchi's right foot which came along with her turn-around from her previous attack, and it was also avoided by Ran who ducked just at the right time. All the while, Ran was smiling, enjoying the fight with this fast opponent.

After getting separated a meter apart, Yamaguchi sent out a couple of punches, which Ran chopped away to the sides. After blocking Yamaguchi's last left-hand punch, Ran maneuvered the opponent's arm and threw it down and away to her left with her right hand, which caused them both to make a turn-around.

Upon facing each other again, Yamaguchi gave a sideward chop, which Ran evaded by bending backwards. Yamaguchi followed up with a punch, seizing the benefit of Ran's bending position, but Ran was able to straighten up quickly, and she turned around to catch Yamaguchi's attacking arm, which surprised the latter.

Ran grabbed her arm and pulled it down towards her, but Yamaguchi was able to pull away quickly before Ran could launch a close attack.

After a second of breaking contact, Yamaguchi was about to throw a touch-down chop at Ran, but the latter slapped it to the right with her left hand, before making a 360-degree turn to give Yamaguchi a reverse roundhouse kick. Ran's right heel landed on Yamaguchi's right flank, tossing her to the side and down on her knees.

And with that, the quarter finals ended, the winner being none other than Mouri Ran.

"Yatta!" Sonoko, Kaito and Kogoro exclaimed in chorus. "Ran won!" The three of them were jumping together out of glee.

Eri and Shinichi merely smiled as their eyes continued to follow Ran.

"Well done, Ran," Eri muttered.

'_I can't believe how she manages to be fierce and nice to her opponents at the same time.' _Shinichi chuckled to himself. He watched Ran help her opponent to get up first and then bow at her, before she let the referee declare her as the winner. _'I hope if she would have a reason to beat me up, she'll be nicer than this and change her mind instead.'_

#######

Later at the locker room,

"Ran!" Sonoko hugged her upon arriving. "You're really great!"

Ran just smiled shyly as a response.

Her companions kept on praising her and she just kept on smiling at them and denying the greatness they were associating with her.

She kept on glancing at Shinichi, as usual, and he just settled with smiling at her whenever their eyes met. He didn't want to interfere in her conversation with her family and friends and some of the Teitan Karate Club members who were also there crowding up around her.

After seeing a girl pass by drinking a bottled soda, Shinichi remembered what he wanted to buy earlier. He hit his twin lightly with his elbow and whispered, "I'm just going to buy something."

"Oh, kei-kei!" Kaito replied cheerfully.

The young detective made his way to the vending machine outside of the room and eyed the particular row where he found the TeaZee's earlier. To his dismay, however, the only empty slot right there was the one where the green teas used to be. "Man, do I have to be this unlucky?"

He sighed before putting his hands in his pockets and leaving the machine.

Upon turning around, he saw a boy pass by, carrying a TeaZee Green Tea on his hand. With the high-speed processor inside his brain, he quickly realized that the boy has just bought it somewhere else that's near, judging the amount of the drink that was reduced from the typical full amount and the direction from which the boy appeared (not from around the vending machine behind him).

He immediately called the boy's attention, bent down to his level and asked, "Hey, do you know where I can buy that kind of drink?"

"Un!" The boy nodded enthusiastically. "I bought it from the oneechan by the gate. She had different colors of drinks but I chose this because it's my favorite color." The boy grinned.

"Thanks, boy." Shinichi also grinned at him.

"Is this your favorite color too, oniichan?" the amiable little one asked.

"Uhm, it's my friend's favorite actually. I want to give her one as a gift," he replied, trying to make it very understandable for a child of around six years old.

"You're really nice then! I hope you can get one for her," the boy bid before smiling again and running away.

He stood up smiling and then went to the direction of the gate.

However, upon arriving at the said drink stall…

"What the-" He was taken aback by what he saw. The woman was just crumpling the plastic wrappers bearing the label of TeaZee Green Tea.

"Don't you have any more of those green teas?" he asked, forehead creasing.

"I'm sorry, that was the last batch," she said apologetically as she continued to clean up the plastics.

"Wow, that green tea sure is in demand," Shinichi asserted.

"I have other flavors here anyway," the woman suggested while reorganizing the remaining drinks.

"Thanks, obasan, but I'm really looking for that green tea in particular." He smiled sheepishly.

"Must be for your girlfriend, am I right?" She was intrigued. "Well, I have good news for you, young man." She smirked and his eyes lit.

"You see that street?" She pointed outside of the Sports Dome area. "Just walk straight ahead and before the intersection right there," she pointed towards the stoplight, "there's a convenience store that sells that drink. That is on the right side of the street."

"Is that so? Thanks for the help." Now recharged with hope, he smiled at her and bowed a little before leaving.

Before passing through the gate, however, he had to get stamped anywhere on his hand, so that he can return to the Sports Dome even when his ticket has already been marked as used.

#######

"Irasshaimase!" was the greeting Shinichi received as he pushed the door open.

All it took was a quick glance from left to right and he has already mind-photographed the layout of the store - one of the things that his detective instincts cause him to do.

He headed towards the refrigerators and scanned the rows one by one, only to realize, _'I've seen this coming.'_ He sighed while smiling at his foolishness.

When Shinichi started walking away, he came across an employee of the convenience store carrying a few boxes, and his eyes followed this man of about his age. The latter stopped at Shinichi's previous spot to put down the boxes on the floor before he started unloading the boxes' contents into the nearest refrigerator. Recognizing the prints on the box, yet again, Shinichi took the chance to ask the man, "Sumimasen, do you have some more of the green tea of that brand?"

"TeaZee, sir?" The young man stood up as he closed the fridge door. He then brought out a small notebook from his shirt pocket and flipped its small pages for some time before finally scratching his head as he apologized, "I'm sorry sir, but the green tea just ran out of stock today."

"Oh, hehe, thanks." Shinichi forced a smile. _'I kind of expected it anyway, seeing how a lot of rows are emptied.' _He glanced at the refrigerators. _'Probably because of the National Tournament being held just around the corner…'_

He was about to turn around when the employee called his attention, "Try the other convenience store, Big Stop, sir. It's just one block away from here. Though, I'm not sure if they sell that particular brand and flavor."

"Alright, thanks." Shinichi smiled, hope coming back to him, especially when he thought about asking, "Is there another branch of 70-Seven around here?" He figured that since this particular convenience store chain sells that brand and flavor of tea, he would most likely find it in other branches.

"Well…" The young man escorted Shinichi towards the glass windows where he started pointing directions. "We have a branch along that street, at the other corner of it. If they still don't have that tea, try looking in our branch on Nakamachi Street, that's just near the second branch. To go there, just take the street where the right side of our second branch is facing, then after walking two blocks, turn left and you'll see it immediately. It's beside the coffee shop, Moonbucks."

"Thanks." Shinichi might be stingy with words but his smile was more generous in showing how happy he became after hearing some more hope. He was already seeing success that he couldn't stop his lips from smiling.

"I bet your girlfriend is going to be soooo happy when she finds out that you really intend to find her favorite drink no matter where it takes you," the young employee teased.

Shinichi just chuckled. He didn't mind about the girlfriend thing because he was busy thinking about how much time is remaining before Ran's next match.

"Well, goodluck on finding it, sir!" the young man bid as Shinichi made his way to the door.

###

'_Each match takes about five to seven minutes, so considering six minutes per match, and there are still three matches for the girls and four matches for the boys, then that would be a total of 42 minutes before Ran's semi-finals.' _He glanced at his watch as he was walking towards the other convenience store, Big Stop, which was the closest. _'12 minutes have passed after her previous match ended. I still have half-an-hour to spare.'_

He opened the door without any trace of haste.

"Irasshaimase!"

After confirming with the refrigerators that they don't have green TeaZee's, he went to the counter and asked if their company sells that drink at least. He didn't see any drink of the same brand when he checked, that's why.

"I'm sorry sir, we don't sell that brand. We have a contract with Coco Loco, Inc. and our bottled drinks here are only from their company," the cashier girl explained regretfully.

###

Shinichi ended up on the streets again, now sure of his target store.

A previous heist with robbers in Fukushima suddenly flashed in his mind and he remembered seeing 70-Seven markers on Geegle Maps when he was searching for the fastest way to get to a certain place. He then brought out his phone and accessed the internet for a vicinity map of Matsumoto. _'So stupid to have forgotten this thing,'_ he scolded himself.

Following the directions told by the man a while ago and that by Geegle Maps, he went to the nearest branch of 70-Seven, only to be dismayed again by the response he got, "I'm sorry sir, but that drink has been in demand with office workers for the past weeks that we already ran out of stock even after replenishing just the other day."

Remembering the high-rise building he saw across the street, he realized that those office-workers might have been the bigger enemies than the Karate Tournament people, hoarding all the bottled green TeaZee's during the weekdays and leaving empty boxes for the town visitors during the weekends.

He had no choice but to try the branch beside Moonbucks.

"I'm sorry sir."

Hearing that sentence, he wanted to leave right away so as not to waste more time, but the detective side of his brain was curious if there was some sort of a connection among the reasons why the green tea was always gone, and so he listened.

"There have been some problems with our inventory and we weren't able to refill our stock of TeeZee's immediately. If you want, sir, we have another brand of green tea that might just suit your taste." The cashier girl ushered him towards the refrigerators and he sweatdropped, realizing that there wasn't any connection after all.

"Here you go sir." The girl handed a green tea bottle to him, and in that instant, the tip of his thumb touched the girl's hand accidentally, causing her to become a madly-blushing fan girl, when she was just the can't-take-my-eyes-off-you type of fan girl a while ago.

"So handsome, my gosh~" was repeatedly emanating from the dazed girl.

Merely sweatdropping at the adoration that he has already gotten used to, he contemplated about the drink. _'Ran would settle for this, I'm sure. But I wouldn't want to give her the second best when she's doing her best there.'_

He decided to return the drink back to the fridge, bypassing his fan in the trance. "Thanks, but that can't replace the one I'm looking for."

With that, he left the store and went to the next one that his map told him about.

###

'_Crap, I never thought I'd end up exploring Matsumoto just for a drink, when I only wanted to buy one from a vending machine…'_

Shinichi was now a kilometer away from the Sports Dome, but he still couldn't find the drink he was looking for.

During his quest, he even passed by a public bath, which reminded him of a drama series that Kaito made him watch a few months ago. He wore a twitching smile as he thought, _'Don't tell me I have to take a bath like Kenzou just to buy a drink from a public bath?...'_

He checked the establishment still, just to make sure he wouldn't miss out what he was looking for.

Ironically, it was sort of a relief for him not to see a TeaZee green tea bottle in the refrigerator beside the public bath counter.

Continuing his journey, he arrived at the next 70-Seven store, but the odds of finding the tea seemed to be so small.

He looked at his watch as soon as he got out of the last store. _'Only 10 minutes remaining… I guess I've lost… I have to go back empty-handed…'_

'_Not being there to support her would be worse than not finding her energy drink anyway… er, that is if I were REALLY her best friend, which I am quite forgetting." _He chuckled to himself, not knowing that his mere presence as Shinichi was enough to energize Ran for a week already.

He sighed as he put his hands inside his pockets while taking the shortest path back to the Sports Dome._ 'Good thing this wasn't a case where a life depended on finding that drink, otherwise I would have been having a heart attack right now.'_

'_If only ordering something like that and having it delivered could all be done in just a matter of minutes, then there wasn't a problem like this to start with…' _He smiled half-heartedly.

"Lunch bento for sale!" he suddenly heard a woman announce.

The voice came from the other side of the street, so he crossed to check it out for a TeaZee green tea, his hopes rising again for the nth time this day. He would seize even the tiniest probability there is, just so he wouldn't fail this small quest that he ended up venturing.

To his utmost surprise, there was a sole bottle of it, standing at the center of the table, surrounded by the bento boxes displayed.

Without any hesitation, he got hold of the bottle and immediately asked "How much is this, obasan?"

However, to his greater surprise – or dismay once again (poor Shinichi) – there was another hand whose fingers are wrapped around that same green tea bottle. The owner of that hand also asked the very same question he did, which made them both look at each other.

She was a tall woman who was roughly around 24, and from her pink jogging attire and her hair tied up, Shinichi could almost sense thirst and hunger from this potential foe.

She looked at him from head to toe, and then raised a brow at him when her ferocious eyes were directly against his. In doing these, her right hand was still grasping the green tea bottle on the table.

Shinichi, on the other hand, did not lose his coolness – proven by his right hand that was still inside his pocket. He returned the gaze but he didn't raise a brow at her or do something annoying. He just waited for her to speak, but he did not let go of the drink either.

"Kid," she spoke in an undoubtedly serious tone. "Ask her if there's still more of this."

With his mind processing properly despite the fierce situation with the seemingly scary woman, he asked the vendor right away, "Obasan, do you still have this kind of green tea?" without any hint of fear in his voice.

He then heard the best answer he has been getting the whole morning, "I'm sorry, there's no more of it."

'_Why did I bother asking anyway?' _he thought, sweat-dropping.

He then looked back at the lady, who, for sure, heard what the vendor said.

"Do you know why I deserve to have this tea?" she started, her eyes twitching with irritation.

As she narrated her situation in a threatening manner, he took the chance to observe her from head to toe.

The pink jogging pants and pink hooded jacket she was wearing had fluffy hemlines. Her white rubber shoes were tied with a pink shoelace that had pink dangling accessories at the ends of the lace. Her pony-tailed hair was tied up with a pink fluffy thing, yet again. She also had a little pink bear hanging from her pocket, probably her cell phone strap.

Now seeing the enemy's weakness, Shinichi searched some more for clues, while partly listening to her narration for some important detail that he could use.

He noticed her silver necklace which had a pendant "Makiko" on it. _'Women hate it when you address them as someone older, so I guess that's a bingo for me~'_

"Makiko-san," with his smooth voice, he cut off her speech. "I have a proposition for you."

The interesting last statement prevented the woman from getting angry after having been cut-off by a seemingly - or equally arrogant young man.

"Alright, I'll hear you out," she said, raising a brow at his face again.

"You like pink cutesy stuff, don't you?"

She didn't respond, but her ears and eyes were still waiting for his continuation.

"And I bet, a cute bento would be more appealing to you than a mere bottle of ordinary green tea." He smirked with full confidence.

The woman blinked and her fierce expression changed into a semi-interested though still-resisting one.

"You see, obasan here has a variety of decorated bento to choose from." He looked at the vendor and Makiko followed his gesture.

"Obasan, now's your turn," he encouraged the older woman and she toured Makiko into her bento paradise where there was a Hello Kitty bento, a pink bunny bento, a panda bento, a three-little-pink-pigs bento, angry birds bento, octobento, sesame street bento, a guitar bento, and even a Meitantei Conan bento.

During the bento 'tour', however, Makiko still had a tight grip on the green tea bottle.

'_She's tougher than I thought.' _Shinichi sweat-dropped.

"Hey kid." Makiko turned from the overwhelmed-by-the-cuteness, cheerful, young woman back into the I-can-outsmart-you-whoever-you-are, fierce woman she was a while ago. "I accept your proposition... But I will choose which bento you will buy for me." She suppressed the smile that was forming on her lips.

"Huh?" Shinichi was dumbfounded. "I will buy the bento for you?" he repeated. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought that he was getting outsmarted.

"Yeah, and then I'll let go of this tea," she replied flatly. She was good at speaking emotionlessly and hiding her love-for-all-things-cute nature behind her vicious-chic façade.

Shinichi glanced at his watch which caused a dread look on his face for a second.

"Alright, choose whatever you want, _Makiko-san._" He gave up in the end, but he emphasized her name to suggest that he was only calling her that - and not oneesan or obasan - despite not wanting to.

She shot him a lethal glare upon hearing the mockery in his tone.

He just stared arrogantly at her, once again, despite the razor-sharp look she was giving him.

Seeing the glare-stare contest pointless, Makiko went on with choosing the best bento. However, a minute has already passed and she was still undecided.

"What's taking you so long? You just have to choose one and that's it," Shinichi grumbled, glancing at his watch again.

"You dare complain to me? You sure have guts, young man." She smirked at him before looking back at her top three bento choices to examine them.

Then, after a few seconds, "I want these three," she flatly stated like a spoiled little girl as she shoved the three bento boxes on top of each other onto his surprised face.

"Seriously?" He wore a confused look.

"Yeah." She wore a forced smile.

"Can you even eat them all?" His face turned doubtful.

"Well, I can settle for just a bottle of green tea or go with three bento boxes, anything's fine with me," she responded mockingly, her confidence never dropping a single percentage.

Shinichi sighed before bringing out his wallet. "Alright… I've been through a lot to just give up on this last green tea."

The moment he paid for the bento, Makiko let go of the bottle and that signaled Shinichi's long-awaited victory against the elusive green tea.

#######

Now having the famous green tea at hand, Shinichi seized the chance to make an order while he was running his way back.

_'Finding this guy is a headache. I'll order straight from the factory so it will be handy whenever needed.' _He smirked at the good idea.

He brought out his phone and dialed the telephone number printed on the green tea bottle. The quickest route towards the sports dome was still clear in his mind anyway.

"TeaZee Incorporated. How may I help you?" A female voice greeted.

"I'd like to order some green tea and have it delivered to my house," Shinichi stated coolly. It was before he glanced at his watch and saw that there were only _'4 minutes left! Crap!'_ He then started running faster.

"Hold on a second, sir," the woman cheerfully said, "I'll transfer your call to the sales."

After the short-lasted melody during the call transfer, Shinichi then heard a male voice lazily say, "Sales department."

"TeaZee Green Tea please," Shinichi said, panting a little. He was nimble enough to safely pass through the obstacles on the way such as a girl and her dog suddenly coming out of a shop, a boy on his skateboard doing exhibitions on the sidewalk, a lady with a grocery bag blocking her sight, and a man carrying long bamboo sticks and swinging them carelessly as he made a turn on a corner.

'_Does the world really hate it that much, for me to have this green tea?' _He chuckled to himself.

"Are you a new customer, sir, or have you ordered from us before?" the man on the phone asked, his manner of speaking was slow.

"New one," Shinichi stated, getting impatient.

"May I ask for your name and your company name, sir?" was the man's lazy follow-up.

"Kudo Shinichi. I'm not ordering for a business, I just want to have your green tea at home." He was a bit more impatient but he tried making it sound normal.

"Alright sir. How many boxes are you going to order?" asked the unenergetic man. He almost sounded like Squidward, right there.

"Uh… wait!-" Shinichi saw an orange bus which gave him some sort of an idea.

'_I saw that kind of bus this morning when we arrived at the tournament venue… That bus also stops where the bus we rode earlier stopped! And that's just in front of the sports dome!' _He quickly checked Geegle Maps to confirm this and he found it to be true, based on the orange dots on the map which were on the location of Matsumoto sports dome and the Pacific Building that he saw near the bus stop ahead. He smirked, praising himself in his mind for the good idea.

He thought about the chances of not being late for the semifinals as he was running towards the bus stop. _'Well, to begin with, my calculations alotted a constant time for all matches. The actual time for each might exceed six minutes, especially since it's the quarter finals already.'_

'_Moreover, I only saw a few cars on my way to the convenience stores, so traffic jams are less likely to happen here.' _He smirked once again before entering the bus.

He checked the map on his phone again and saw that the sports dome was just two bus stops away. _'This bus goes along the shortest route towards the dome.'_

He paid the fee and went on inside. He then clicked a few icons on his phone and it revealed the satellite version of the map which shows the real-time traffic status of the areas in Matsumoto, and during that time, the route of the bus was more or less clear. _'Thought so.' _He smiled confidently. _'Looks like luck is on my side now.'_

As he walked through the bus aisle, the female passengers followed him with their eyes. This was yet another handsome aura effect being exhibited. After he found a spot to stand at, he noticed two girls to his right, giggling. He only gave them a glance, but he couldn't help but give them a second look when a flash of light shone upon him from their direction. It was a relief for his detective instincts, however, to realize that they were just sneakily trying to take a photo of him with their phone, and there was no flash bomb or terrorism to worry about.

He smiled halfheartedly to himself after hearing one girl mumble to her companion, "I told you to check if the flash is on! This is so embarrassing! We should have used my phone instead."

'_Wait a minute… Shimatta! The phone!'_

He hurriedly brought his phone onto his ear and said, "I'm so sorry, are you still there?" He was even wearing an apologetic expression even if the other person would not see it.

Luckily, Squidward- er, the man from TeaZee Sales was still there. "Yes sir, I'm still here."

Shinichi was a bit curious about why the man did not hang up, but he just thanked it for happening and went on with ordering.

"I guess I'll just have one box of it for now," he decided upon remembering what Ran said about not wanting to stock up those green teas for herself because she wanted other people to enjoy it too and discover it if they haven't.

"Are you sure?" the man on the line asked.

"Uh, yeah?" was his confused reply.

"The basic shipping fee applies to orders of one up to five boxes and it increases every multiples of five boxes, hence, it is impractical to order just a single box," explained the man. It was surprising how he was able to say all those in a bit faster pace than before. "And besides, you've made me wait too long for you to order just ONE BOX."

Shinichi grinned sheepishly while rubbing his cheek with a finger. "Sorry about that. How about sending me a box every week for about hm, two months?" he suggested, thinking that it would be favorable for both of them.

"Are you sure about that, sir? That would not change anything about the shipping fee. It's just like ordering a box every week," the unenthusiastic man commented.

"It's alright. I will mail you my address after this call," Shinichi replied, now a bit hasty as he was checking through the window the name of the bus stop outside.

"Alright. I will try to give you a discount for your two-month subscription. I'll send you the quotation afterwards," the man finalized. "How about the method of payment, sir? Bank deposit or card?"

"Card." Shinichi grinned. _'Dad's Mastercard is always so handy.'_

"Okay, thank you for your patronage. Have a good day," was the last lazy sentence said by the man.

"Thanks, bye." Shinichi bid.

'_Now I don't have to undergo this kind of an adventure when I want to get this drink.' _He smirked as he looked at the bottle he was holding.

#######

Minutes later, an orange bus stopped in front of the Matsumoto Sports Dome and a young man got out of it panting his heart out.

'_God, who would have thought that the bus would get crowded from the previous bus stop? And to think all the other passengers are girls! If I wasn't any careful, I would've gotten molested for real!' _He chuckled remembering how some girls stumbled during the ride and hugged him 'accidentally', and how he was able to barely pass through the crowded aisle full of girls trying to smell him, grab him and even steal a kiss from him. _'Next time I ride a bus, I'll bring a body guard along.' _He smiled halfheartedly.

Having thought about a body guard, Ran in her fighting stance flashed in his mind and so, he immediately headed inside the sports dome carrying the green tea in his hand.

#######

When Shinichi arrived at the bleachers, Ran's match was already on, and it surprised him to see that her opponent was already leading by a point. He made his way to his seat slowly as he was watching her and was trying to get an idea as to what was happening while walking.

Ran was panting after the long exchange of punches and kicks that happened. She glanced at the scoreboard with a worried face while the referee was checking up on her after having been knocked down. _'Where could he be?...'_

Toinks, so she was worried about Shinichi, and not the score.

She glanced at the audience for the fifth time this round and finally she saw Shinichi just when he was about to sit beside Kaito. Their seats were interchanged, actually, but it did not matter for him nor for her.

_'Shinichi-kun!' _Ran's heart skipped a beat. In that instant, her face lightened up while partly reddening.

She clenched her fist, now ready for the next rally. When the referee gave his signal, the two girls dashed towards each other.

"Yo, where have you been?" Kaito asked, not turning his eyes away from the match.

"I went around to look for this." Shinichi smiled halfheartedly while shaking the bottle a little to emphasize. He was also watching the match intently.

Kaito glanced at what Shinichi was talking about and freaked out when he saw it. "You're drinking that now?" He moved closer to his twin's ear. "Did Ran influence you with that leaf-tasting tea? Oh man, now I have to drink that when I'm myself!"

"No, calm down." Shinichi chuckled. "This is for Ran." He placed the tea at the foot of his seat for a while and focused on the match.

Ran, on the other hand, was preoccupied in blocking her opponent's attacks. This girl, Himura Noriko of Kyoto, was not only fast but also strong that most of the attacks that Ran blocked gave bruises to the latter.

_'She's so fierce; I can't get the chance to attack...' _Ran thought, thinking of ways to get through the situation.

She waited for Himura to give a kick after having observed the latter's chop-punch-kick order of attacking that comes out in varying numbers. When she finally did, Ran dodged to the left and pushed Himura's right foot to the right, causing the Kyoto girl to turn around and Ran to switch places with her.

Although Himura was able to quickly plan and execute a comeback touch-down chop after the turn-around, Ran had expected it and was able to counter it with an upward block with her left arm followed by a front sideward kick straight onto Himura's stomach.

This caught Ran's opponent of guard, causing her to be driven down to her knees, holding her aching, striken tummy.

Realizing that she was to gain a point from this, Ran took a step backward and let her guard down as the referee checked Himura. However, before the referee could declare it a point for Ran, Himura took advantage of her position and set off a low roundhouse kick with her right foot, sweeping both the floor and Ran's left foot in the process.

"Shimatta!" chorused the Kudo twins who both stood up in surprise at the same Ran fell seated on the ring floor.

"Itai..." Ran pulled her left foot closer, her eyes twitching in pain. After successfully hiding her sprain for 3 rounds, it ended up getting triggered in the semi-finals.

Kogoro, Sonoko and Eri also stood up, all worried seeing how in-pain Ran looked.

To make things worse, the judges decided that both Ran and Himura gained a point from the series of events.

_'So this is the end huh?' _Shinichi thought, thinking Ran lost already. He turned his back from the center stage and was about to run towards the exit so he can rescue Ran immediately, when Kaito put a hand on his shoulder.

"Where are you going? Ran will be looking for you again." The smile Kaito was wearing was obviously hiding the anxiety he had. "She will be bothered even more to see that you're gone, now that her ankle is causing her trouble."

"Isn't it over?" Shinichi turned and saw Ran standing up.

"I forgot to tell you, it's best-of-five now. The first to get three points wins." Kaito grinned sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Ran staggered a bit before finally making it to her fighting stance. Some sweat of pain were rolling down on her forehead, a proof of what she was enduring.

"Hey, that last move was not fair!" Sonoko yelled. "Aren't you going to change the decision?"

"Ran seems to be in great pain..." Eri noticed.

Kogoro quickly faced Eri. "Did that kick break her bone or something?" He clenched a fist upon looking at the ring again. "Why that little..."

"Don't you think we should stop her?" Shinichi mumbled.

"I..." Kaito watched how Ran was trying her best to make it seem normal. When the referee approached her, she shook her head and smiled. "I guess we should tell them about it first..." he decided.

#######

"Wwwhat?" Kogoro grabbed Kaito by his collar. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Calm down!" Eri pulled Kogoro's arm.

"I'm sorry Occhan, but I couldn't... Ran made me promise... that I will only let you know if it starts hurting again..." All the while, Kaito was facing down. He really felt like he was the one who made that promise and he understood why Kogoro was this upset.

Shinichi remained silent behind his brother. He was also feeling responsible for this, having allowed Ran to pursue the tournament in the first place.

Sonoko, on the other hand, was shocked and worried at the same time that tears were starting to well up in her eyes. _'So all this time, she was keeping that to herself? I wasn't even able to help Ran in any way...' _She wiped her eye as she turned to glance at Ran, but to her surprise, what she saw was not an injured Ran but a Ran that just earned a point after bringing her opponent down. "What the- Ran!" Her cheerful voice made her companions look at the same direction.

"Ran gained a point?" Kogoro wore his super-surprised face, his hand letting Kaito loose in the process.

Eri then slapped his arm, saying, "Now we didn't see what happened because of you!"

Both the jaw-dropped Kudo twins, on the other hand, had smiles forming on their faces. "What just happened?" they chorused, their moods now lightened.

"Ran is still fighting!" Sonoko announced. "What should we do, uncle?"

"Ran! What are you doing?" was the only thing Kogoro could say. All five of them were undecided whether they should call for the match to stop or let Ran finish it since she was still able to fight.

The answer was given by Ran herself when she engaged in a fiery combat with her opponent.

They were taking turns in attacking and blocking, that everyone on the watch could not risk to take their eyes off them. Even if Ran's left foot was hurting, she was able to comply just by using her right foot for support and her hands for attacking. Her left leg was still useful in blocking, though.

In one very critical instant of their offensive exchange, Ran was able to grab Himura's fist after muffling the punch that the latter threw. This allowed her to flip Himura onto the floor with all the remaining strength she's got, and thus earned her the license to enter the championship match.

Everyone took time to rejoice except for the five who immediately rushed towards the exit and hurried to the ringside.

#######

In spite of her aching foot, Ran still considered giving a hand to help her opponent get up. She certainly did not bear a grudge against this girl from Kyoto for what she did to her. It was Ran's gentle smile that served as Himura's assurance that her kindness was genuine.

Shinichi and the others arrived after Ran was declared as the winner.

As part of Shinichi's fast-acting instincts, he went up the stage to take Ran's arm and prop it on his shoulder. Ran hesitated at first but when Kaito came to their side and said, "Do you want him to carry you instead?" she reluctantly gave up let him support her walking.

Although still worried, Kaito couldn't help but grin seeing Ran's face turn crimson.

#######

"Now explain to us, young woman," Eri started the scolding session, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her foot tapping impatiently.

The injured superstar sitting on a chair was surrounded by the four people that were throwing her pretending-to-be-angry-but-worried-really looks and questions that she merely answered with a sheepish smile.

"Why did you keep this from us? From me?" Kogoro asked.

"Why did you continue the match earlier? You could've lost your left foot if things got worse!" Sonoko warned.

"Are you feeling alright now?" asked Kaito.

Shinichi, on the other hand, just stood somewhere at the side. He preferred being the silent but observant type he usually was. He was, however, smiling at what he was watching.

Ran was glancing at him from time to time, blushing at the fact that she wanted to know Shinichi's reaction to all of this.

After some more questions, expressions of worry and Ran's explanations, she then asked in the humblest way she could, "So... Am I still allowed to fight?" She wore a shy, excusing smile, "...Or not?" and then a slightly-frowning disappointed look.

The four turned silent for an extended period. Ran sighed and looked down.

A minute later, Kogoro cleared his throat and thus broke the silence.

"Ran," he called her attention. "Tell me, does your foot hurt?"

Ran shook her head enthusiastically. "It doesn't hurt if I'm not doing much movements." She showed them how she can move her foot slowly. "If I can prevent it from getting attacked again, it wouldn't hurt as much." She grinned like a child. "And besides, Kaito and I know a way to relieve the pain and to sort of heal it… temporarily." The last word was more like a whisper as she smiled sheepishly. "Ne, Kaito?" She grinned at him.

Kaito was startled a bit when everyone looked at him. "Uh, yeah, hehe." His poker face expertise got him through their inquisive eyes, though.

In fact, Kaito wanted to help Ran treat her sprain since earlier but he knew Ran would not want Shinichi to see her in that state, so he waited for the right time to ask for some time alone with Ran.

"Well," Kogoro's gruff voice started, but Eri cut his sentence when she said, "I believe you are old and responsible enough to make your decisions, Ran."

Kogoro merely grimaced behind Eri.

"You're the only one who can really tell if your foot hurts so much or if you can still manage to have another match with it," she continued. "I know you are someone who knows her priorities well and does not take risks unreasonably, so I'll leave the decision up to you. However, if I see that you are really incapable for the final round – and I'm sure your friends will notice that too – then I would impose my motherly authority and forbid you from continuing." Her words and the earnest smile that concluded them caused tears to well up in little crybaby Ran's eyes.

"Aww, Okasan…" Ran's smile turned into a chuckle as she tried to hide her rolling tears. Eri simply laughed at her while lightly patting Ran's head.

She was always that easy to move and Kaito knew that well, so in order to spare his bestfriend from getting further embarrassed in front of her crush, he suggested, "Everyone, may I borrow Ran for a few minutes? As her sprain doctor, I say we need some time to prepare for the next round." He smirked and Eri instantly understood, that she led the others to go out of the room.

"Wait, I haven't said my side!" Kogoro complained while Eri was pushing him towards the door.

"I know you'll just be copying what I have said," Eri teased. "Ran doesn't want to hear the same thing twice so let's just go."

"No! I'm the father around here! Hey, wait!" Ran heard her father exclaim before the door closed.

"Is it alright?" Ran sweatdropped. "Mom's really more powerful than dad."

"Yeah, she's really strong and cool." Kaito laughed.

Ran then sighed when the image of Shinichi going out of the room flashed in her mind. She took note of his faint smile – exactly how it looked – and she was a bit troubled by it. "Mou, Kaito, I don't know what he was thinking!"

"Shinichi?" Kaito laughed again. "Don't worry, that guy just thinks you're cool that you still won the previous match despite your sprain, you're cute because you cry easily and you're weird because you're too strong for a girl." His laughter resounded.

"Jeez, for a second I thought you were serious!" She hit his upper arm.

"I am serious." He chuckled.

Ran just made a face at him as a response but Kaito kept on laughing.

"Ne, Kaito." Her tone was a bit more serious now, but there was a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "Thanks for always saving me."

"Save you from what?" He played innocent.

"Ehh~ You know that already!"

He shook his head while smiling evilly.

Ran pouted before continuing. She fiddled with her fingers as she spoke, "When I cried, you made him go away so he wouldn't see it that much, and you did not do the first aid and massage on my foot when he was around." She smiled. "Thanks for being nice in some ways."

"That's better; thank me specifically." He laughed conceitedly. "Wait, what do you mean by _'nice in some ways'_?"

"Nothing~" She covered her mischievous smile.

"You're really mean, Ran." Kaito just played along, acting like he's angry although Ran knew so well that he wasn't.

He then knelt down and checked Ran's foot with a serious face at first. It then turned out that he actually planned to poke her left foot repetitively wearing his naughty little boy expression, asking, "Does this hurt?"

The in-pain-but-still-smiling Ran hit his shoulder. "Cut it out!"

He then turned those pokes into tickles, targeting Ran's foot sole, which made her giggle reluctantly. She was slapping his shoulder as a sign of resistance but her strength didn't seem to affect the laughing Kaito.

"Hey, you're wasting our private time, Mr. Sprain Doctor," she said, still laughing, when he stopped tickling.

"That's just what I call lightening-up therapy," he stated confidently as he stood up to get another chair. "How can you be so dense?" he teased, and then a towel ball came landing on his face. "Hey! Don't go throwing yucky stuff on my precious face!" he chuckled.

Then another towel ball came his way but he was able to dodge it. "Those are clean towels, Mr. Neat-freak!" she said smirking.

She then sighed, "Good thing Shinichi wasn't here to hear your meanness. Otherwise I would've been imprisoned now for beating up my friend." She laughed, trying to make it sound as evil as possible.

Kaito smiled half-heartedly before his phone rang. He picked it up quickly and said, "You hear that, Shinichi? She said she's going to beat me up!"

Ran showed a doubtful face, so he pressed the loudspeaker button and they heard Shinichi say, "What? Who's going to beat you up?"

Ran whined and threw her sports bag to Kaito. It was beside her chair previously, but now it made a dent on the locker it hit behind him. She was seated with her sprain when she did that, what more could have happened if she weren't?

Kaito slowly turned to look at the locker behind him with eyes anticipating a horrible scene. He then put the phone back to his ear and said, "Nah, I'm just fooling around, bro. You know me." And he laughed stupidly.

"Trying to cheer her up, eh? Hey, come out for a minute, I have something to give you," Shinichi told him.

"Sure, right away," Kaito said with a more serious face before putting down his phone.

Ran was clueless as he walked towards the door and went out.

#######

"This might help in cheering her up." Shinichi handed the green tea bottle to his brother.

"Yeah, I forgot about this! Thanks, bro." Kaito grinned as he got hold of the bottle. He then looked around and pressed his ear onto the door for a while before whispering, "Hey, a little help with the sprain-healing stuff… I might end up doing a different routine and she might think it's weird."

"About that, I already saved the webpages on your phone." Shinichi smirked. "In case _Kaito_ would not be able to remember all those routines yesterday…"

"Yoshi!" Kaito clenched a now-recharged fist. "The doctor will do his best, don't worry." He kidded.

"Goodluck then," Shinichi said as he walked away, his hands in his pockets the usual way. "Just tell me if you need any help," he said without looking back.

#######

"Ran~ I have a peace offering for you~" Kaito cheerfully greeted as he entered the room.

"What's that?"

"Tada!~" He showed her the green tea, in a commercial model way.

"Wow! Green TeaZee!" She made an effort to stand up so she can walk towards him to get the drink, although her foot gave her a little difficulty.

"Hey, hey!" Kaito hurried to her to stop her by the shoulders. "You don't have to walk to get your energy drink, princess. The doctor will bring it to you." He smiled.

And so he opened the bottle and handed it to Ran before he started with the sprain treatment.

"Hey, don't treat me like a baby. I can open this on my own," she complained before taking a sip.

"Shinichi told me to open it for you so you wouldn't have to move a lot," he said, smirking, as he lifted her left leg onto another chair for it to lie straight.

"He really said that?" Ran's eyes grew big and she almost got choked with her drink.

"Nah," he stated flatly before laughing.

"Why you…" she kicked his leg lightly with her right foot, smiling, before she took another sip of her tea.

"Is that how you treat your doctor?" He complained jokingly. "But it's true, he was the one who bought that," he stated, thinking that the drink would be a better booster if Shinichi's name was attached to it.

"Really?" she doubted.

"Yeah."

"Then what took you so long?"

"I uh… talked with my brother." He grinned. _'…and browsed those sprain-treatment articles.'_

"You're lying," she stated like a little girl suspicious of her dad.

"No, it's true." His smile was more like a guilty one that she couldn't be convinced.

"Then what did you talk about?" she tested him.

"He said he's hoping that this will cheer you up a little, and he taught me a few stuff he knows about sprain treatment." Kaito's confidence made it seem believable.

"Really?..." Ran's Shinichi-fandom was starting to light up. "Then… then this really came from him?" Her big eyes were excited for the answer.

"Yeah, but I told him what to buy because he doesn't know about that green tea, you know," Kaito stated like a jealous little boy, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes turned away from her.

"Awww~ Shinichi's green tea gift for me, how thoughtful!" She completely ignored Kaito's 'contribution' as she hugged the bottle and pressed it onto her cheek.

"Hey, are you listening?" he pouted as he continued with the sprain treatment.

But she continued to adore the green tea she was holding.

"Hey, let's just use that for cold compression instead of ice," he teased, trying to grab the bottle from her.

"No way!" and they kept squabbling that they forgot the problem for a while.

Later on, the two turned silent, as if they both ran out of jokes or things to argue about. They were almost finished in doing the things listed on Kaito's phone.

'_Kaito's massage seems a little different from yesterday…' _Ran thought as she watched him handle her foot. _'Maybe he's distracted… or worried…'_

"Kaito…" she called with her soft voice.

"Hm?" His tone was also tranquil. He didn't bother looking at her.

"Are you angry with me the least bit?" she asked, seriousness evident in her voice. She stared at him, waiting for a gaze to be returned.

"What are you talking about?" He merely glanced at her, smiling. "Why would I be angry?"

She frowned. "Because I insisted on going here… because you've been worried about me but I still do as I please and get you involved with all the troubles it takes…"

He looked at her and now she was the one staring down. "My dad might have even scolded you for letting me hide this from them… I'm sorry for being so stubborn, Kaito."

He let out a smiling sigh before leaning forward to reach and rub her head. "I'm always here to support you. There's nothing I can't do for you, Ran." He smiled gently.

"Thank you, Kaito." She returned the heartfelt smile.

'_Anyone watching us might think that I have feelings for this girl… I'm not Kang Shin Woo! This isn't a Korean drama people!' _Kaito sweatdropped in his thoughts.

"You're really nice even if you're always mean," she commented playfully.

'_And if this scene happened three years ago, I'm sure I'd be crying…' _He smirked faintly. _'So much for unrequited love…'_

"And besides," was the follow-up for his previous statement, "I know you didn't want to back out because you've set up your parents here." His smirk made her grin.

"Shinichi, too," she said shyly but cheerfully.

"You're really nuts." He chuckled, shaking his head.

She smiled. "But if my bestfriend doesn't want me to fight anymore, I will do so and surrender."

"You tell me the answer, Ran." He lifted her arms and led her to stand up.

Ran was oblivious of what he was planning when he guided her to walk forward, still holding her left arm.

When he stopped, he let go of her arm and they were face-to-face.

Ran was baffled even more when he slowly took a few steps backward. "What are you…? Ahhh!"

She was taken by surprise when he suddenly drew out his card gun and started firing it to her. She tried her best to avoid every card that was trying to hit her that she almost looked like dancing.

"What are you doing?" she asked looking vexed and confused.

"I couldn't dare hurt you, so I guess this will do," he said while shooting cards semi-randomly at Ran.

Though she found it weird and really extreme, she was able to dodge all the cards, especially those that were aiming at her injured foot. Her movements were considerably smooth, but it was still noticeable that she was trying to do fewer movements with her left foot and was hiding it from the attacks.

"Alright." Kaito stopped shooting. "You passed." He blew his card gun and rolled it on his finger before putting it back in the inside pocket of his jacket. He then smirked and said, "I formally allow you to go to the championship match, Ran."

But then, his cool act was ruined when a half-filled green tea bottle crashed on his forehead.

#^$&%!

"Oh my God, I just threw Shinichi's gift for me!" The worried Ran quickly went to Kaito's side to get the green tea bottle on the floor, disregarding the groaning Kaito beside it.

"Itai…" he mumbled, holding his forehead and acting all hurt. _'But it wasn't that strong of a throw. She doesn't want to hurt me too.' _He smiled to himself.

"Why are you smiling and groaning at the same time?" She said it with a stern voice but a smile still escaped her lips. "You're really the weirdest, shooting your cards at me just to check if I can move well…"

He just smiled.

"But, thanks for trying me, now I know how much I can move." Her smile grew wider. "Thanks for keeping your promise, too."

"I'm really the best, aren't I?" He flashed his trademark grin.

She hit him lightly on the stomach with her elbow while chuckling. "Don't be so full of it."

Kaito took the initiative to pick up the towels and carry her bag. Before they left the room, he called her attention. "One last thing, Ran."

"What is it?"

"If it hurts again, quit right away, alright?" His face was serious but calm when he said it.

She nodded enthusiastically.

After their sprain therapy, Ran immediately went to find and thank Shinichi for the green tea. Kaito volunteered to accompany her, and he secretly mailed his brother to meet them at a spot nearby so Ran wouldn't have to strain her foot so much.

"Shinichi-kun, thank you for the green tea." She lowered her head in front of him, hiding her faint blush in the process.

Shinichi was surprised as he did not expect that the drink would be credited to him. He glanced at his brother before smiling at the girl who was now facing him. "Don't mention it," he said looking at her eye-to-eye.

Her cheeks got even warmer seeing him smile and speak the way he did. When she realized that she was already gaping at him, she quickly turned away and looked down. "I-I'm gonna get going." She smiled shyly.

He merely nodded with a faint smile. "Don't get hurt, okay? _Kaito_ will be worried about you," he said in a somewhat teasing tone.

Kaito's attention was caught by his words. _'Kaito who? Me or you?' _He smirked and his brother, who glanced at him, did so too.

Ran, on the other hand, was struck that her heart started to run wild. She couldn't look at him in fear of getting caught in an eye contact again, but she was bothered, thinking, _'Does he think I have some sort of a thing for Kaito? No, Shinichi, don't misunderstand!'_

Not knowing what to say, she only managed to bow a little as her face continued to flush. With that, Shinichi walked past them, leaving her no chance to clear up the wrong idea.

'_Mou, Shinichiiiii! #_#' _Ran wiggled down in frustration.

#######

It was then time for the championship round of the girls division. Ran and her opponent were already at the foot of the ring, waiting to be introduced.

Meanwhile, Kaito and the others, who spent the last few minutes making sure that Ran could really fight, were running their heads off to get to the bleachers immediately. On their way, however, they came across a couple of men in white uniform, carrying a stretcher with a girl on it.

These medics were heading the same direction as they were at that moment, so Kaito, allowed his curiosity to speak up as they were running. "What happened to her?" He referred to the half-blanketed unconscious girl they were carrying. His companions cared to listen as well while still running.

The girl was in her casual wear so Kaito and the others had no idea that…

"She's the contestant who got badly hurt in the semi-finals," explained one man.

Another one added, "Her opponent gave her no mercy and left her with a fractured leg aside from beating her up."

Kaito and Shinichi's eyes grew with grave terror. Without saying anything, they both dashed back to where they came from.

"That…" The frozen Kogoro muttered. "That's Ran's opponent right now they are talking about!" In a flash, Kogoro, Eri and Sonoko were already following Kaito and Shinichi's footsteps.

#######

"What?"

Kaito was at the edge of his temper. Two security personnel grasped his struggling arms as he further tried to convince the other man who was guarding the door to the arena. "Why won't you let us in? My friend's in danger! If we don't stop the match now, she might end up like the other girl!"

"Don't say such weird things. You can't fool me with such a prank," the man by the door said as the other two laughed.

Shinichi took hold of the wrist of one of the guards holding his brother and he grabbed it tightly as he glared at that man. "We're not fooling around."

Kogoro, upon arrival, already had an idea as to what was happening with the twins. Seeing the man by the door as the greatest obstruction, he rushed to him and grabbed him by the collar. "Let us in! My daughter is in danger!"

The three tall guards were of big muscular bodies but the other three did not care.

Unfortunately, the tables were turned against our heroes. All their verbal persuasion and physical resistance did not triumph against the brawny men. Kaito ended up getting his elbows held behind his back by the big hands of one guard. Shinichi's arms were caught by the unyielding hands of the other guard. They both struggled to free their arms but to no avail.

Eri and Sonoko couldn't do anything but to yell at all of them to stop.

Kogoro, on the other hand, still held onto the third guard's collar, but the latter was already squeezing his shoulders, intending to threaten him, saying, "Since you're older than those two boys, I expect that you understand the rules better than they do."

Kogoro narrowed his eyes at the man. "Oh, no I don't." And in a split second, he grabbed the guard by the arms and threw him onto the ground with one of his stupendous judo techniques, giving him an aching back that kept him lying on the floor.

That served as the signal of war that the twins were waiting for.

"I didn't want to do this but…" they muttered in chorus before making their move.

With full strength, Shinichi pulled his arms quickly as he took a step back, dragging the one restraining him in the process. He then gave the partially crouching tall man a strong kick on the stomach with his right knee, knocking the wind out of him as he fell on the floor gasping for air.

Kaito, meanwhile, managed to move his right hand in his restrained position and after opening his palm and pointing his fingers down, his card gun magically appeared within his grasp in just a blink of an eye. Whether the gun slid down from his sleeve or he was able to draw it with lightning speed from a hidden holster somewhere on his belt, no one knows but him. He then shot a couple of cards at the man's feet, startling him especially when he saw that the cards pierced through the floor. This caused him to loosen up his grip on Kaito's elbows.

Kaito quickly turned around and pointed his card gun at the last guard standing. "You're lucky I was the one you pinned," he remarked, smirking.

Shinichi and Kogoro stood beside Kaito as he added, "but you'll run out of luck if you don't open that door right now." He was holding his gun very steadily and by looking at his eyes, one can tell that he's dead serious despite the smirk he was wearing.

Seeing that he will either be shot or knocked down if he didn't obey, the guard raised his palms and walked towards the door to open it.

Without wasting any second, the three guys, as well as Sonoko and Eri, rushed inside and called out to Ran.

"Raaaaaaannnn!"

To their utmost surprise, however, an ecstatic Ran turned around to face them and showed them the gold trophy she was holding. "Where have you guys been? I won!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she went down the stage and ran towards them.

The five stood dumbfounded. "What did we miss?" Kaito spoke for the rest.

#######

"So you knew about your opponent being a notorious, merciless, bone-breaking one?" Kaito started the clearing up.

"Really?—I mean, what? No." Ran was confused.

They have decided to talk in one of the vacant hallways as they all could not wait to know what happened.

"We were so worried about you. Thank goodness you're safe." Eri sighed in relief as she embraced her daughter.

"Why? What's with my opponent?" Ran was clueless.

"We found out that during the semi-finals, she beat up her opponent badly and even fractured the girl," Kaito explained.

"The officials I asked just earlier said that all of her matches were won by knock out," Shinichi added.

"Then she must've been a really ruthless one!" Sonoko concluded.

Ran's forehead creased as she stood speechless, actually worried about those girls especially the one who got a fracture.

"Are you not hurt anywhere, Ran?" Kogoro's rough voice was in contrast with his concerned tone. "How's your foot?"

"I'm alright, Otousan." She smiled shyly. "I'm sorry for making you all worry."

"How did you beat her anyway, Ran?" was Sonoko's question that also interested the other four.

"Well, she was always aiming for my left foot. I thought that maybe she learned about it from the previous match," Ran narrated. "She got the first point but she didn't hit my foot because I was able to save it, at least." She chuckled and then turned serious again. " Anyway, as I was saying, I really noticed that she was always after my sprained foot, so I tried provoking her to do different attacks but she still insisted on aiming at it." She scowled a bit as she recalled what happened.

"And then? What did you do?" Sonoko was excited to know the good part.

"And then… I knocked her down three times and I won." Ran grinned innocently.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

The dissatisfied five took a few seconds of frustrated silence before demanding, "How did you actually beat her?"

"Well- I-" Ran was startled. She took time to look at them each before finally showing them another grin and saying, "It all happened so fast, I can't remember quite well." She laughed foolishly with a hand behind her head, "Ehehehe…"

#######

"I'm telling you, Ran, they were all fuming that time! They were super worried about you!" Sonoko couldn't contain her excitement.

The two girls were at the canteen of the sports dome, having some ice cream. Ran wanted to know what happened earlier so Sonoko dragged her there to tell her everything.

"Those three were really cool when they fought those big bouncers – or guards, whatever," she said, gesturing the height and size of the guards.

Ran chuckled after taking a sip from her remaining TeaZee. "What do you mean by cool?"

Sonoko went on with her enthusiastic story-telling. "If only you have seen how they looked like – even your dad, actually – they were so cool! Even your Shinichi, he knocked down one of the three guards just so they can save you!" She described in detail what happened according to her point of view.

Unbeknownst to them, Kaito and Shinichi were just a few tables away from them and these boys could hear what they were talking about even if they didn't want to.

Shinichi smiled half-heartedly after glancing at the refrigerator near the counter. "Good thing that_ tea_ is not here. That would be frustrating otherwise," he muttered, looking grim.

Kaito chuckled after realizing what he meant. "You must've gone through a lot to find that tea, huh?"

"Yeah, there was no turning back that time." Shinichi smirked lazily.

"Brings me back memories." Kaito laughed before taking a sip from his fruit shake. He recalled the old times when he had to engage in some sort of an adventure just to find that tea for her, much like what his brother did today.

"So they really had a serious fight with the guards?" Ran was surprised. "Good thing they weren't hurt."

"Yeah." Sonoko took a bite of her banana split before continuing, "But they must've been hurt a little. The guards took hold of their arms and they had to struggle."

"I hope they didn't get wounded because of that," Ran mumbled worriedly. Her mind then wandered off, imagining how she would tend Shinichi's wounds if he were wounded from that fight. She imagined herself applying medicine at the corner of his wounded-but-still-attractive lips, and he would twitch a little from the pain and then hold her hand to stop her. Then, they would gaze at each other's eyes and without them knowing, they were being magnetized closer and closer towards each other.

"Ran!" Sonoko interrupted the dream sequence.

Ran's face quickly turned red after realizing what she was thinking about. "What happened with those guards?" she asked, hoping to bring her mind back to reality.

"Your mom dealt the legal matters about it, I think." Sonoko smirked. "It's nice to have a lawyer mom sometimes, ne?"

Ran merely smiled. She then turned serious again when she said, "But I still can't believe Kaito and Shinichi would get angry to that extent. I mean, my dad would've really used brute force if he were in that situation…" She grinned sheepishly. "But those two are usually cool and they don't seem hot-headed even the slightest."

"It was your dad who defied the guard first and they just followed," Sonoko stated bluntly.

"Oh." Ran smiled half-heartedly.

"But you know, at that time, I really saw how worried Kaito was." Sonoko recalled. "Pointing his card gun at that man with that serious of a face and his fierce eyes that were locked onto the man until he opened the door… he was scary even if he was wearing a smirk, but I know that it was all just out of his concern towards you."

'_Yeah, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for having allowed Ran to fight if something bad happened to her,' _the eavesdropping Kaito thought, his face was serious with a hint of regret.

Ran wore a worried expression. "He must have been blaming himself at that time for letting me fight…" She hit the bull's eye.

Sonoko merely nodded before changing the subject. "At that time, I couldn't tell what Shinichi was thinking about, but he was as serious and as scary as his brother was."

Ran blushed instantly at the idea that Shinichi was also worried about her.

"I don't mean to discourage you or anything, though," Sonoko said, "but he seemed either worried about you too or he was just very supportive to his twin."

Ran grinned mischievously. "Maybe it's both." She turned into her dreamy fan girl self. "He's really cool and mysterious, isn't he?~"

Sonoko merely chuckled at her.

Meanwhile, the unintentionally eavesdropping Shinichi answered them in his thoughts, _'I just felt responsible too, for letting you to go to the tournament despite your sprain.'_

'_I felt as guilty and worried as he was.' _He glanced at his brother who was gobbling up his yakisoba. He couldn't help but smile seeing his twin exert all his frustrations towards the poor noodles, mumbling "I may not be mysterious but I believe I am cool, too! Harr harr!"

#######

The awarding ceremony then came.

After the respective awards have been given, Sonoko suggested a picture taking.

"Shinichi-kun, you stand here." She said, placing Shinichi beside Ran.

Ran was wearing her medal and holding her trophy while standing bashfully as Shinichi stood beside her. He was merely obeying Sonoko having thought that everyone will do the same anyway.

"Congratulations," Shinichi said, as softly yet as coolly as ever. He was facing Ran as he said it, just to show her a quick but genuine smile.

She returned the gesture but with an additional blush that she tried to hide when she said, "Thank you, Shinichi-kun."

Kaito was making his way towards where his brother was when Sonoko stopped him by the face with one hand while her other hand pressed the camera button as she said, "Say cheese!"

"Hey!" Kaito complained.

"Don't get in the way," Sonoko scolded him.

Kaito pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "The 'say cheese'goes _before_ the shutter, tsk."

"Nah, this is perfect as it is!" She beamed at her digicam screen showing the image of Ran and Shinichi smiling at each other.

When Kaito stood beside her to peek, she pushed his face away and said, "Go there for another picture." She just grinned at him when he scowled.

"Hey! How come those guys take a picture with my daughter first?" Kogoro complained.

"Uncle, you'll make Ran really happy this way, trust me." Sonoko smiled mischievously.

"This old man doesn't understand things about young people, you know," Eri commented on the side, making Kogoro glare at him which resulted to a stare-down contest between them.

The sweatdropping Sonoko just shrugged and focused her attention on the three. "Alright. Move closer, guys!"

Ran was in between Kaito and Shinichi which was why she couldn't stop her cheeks from reddening. _'Sonoko~ Don't do this to me… I might be smelling of sweat right now and Shinichi's just an inch away.'_

However, what Shinichi noticed at that time was, _'She really has this fragrance that I have come to notice.' _He glanced at her wind-blown hair and smiled faintly.

Unbeknownst to Shinichi, yet again, Sonoko was able to capture that moment. _'Fan girls and fan-girl sidekicks should remember to put off the flash when they want to capture the best moments,' _she thought, smirking proudly.

"Alright, one, two, three!"

After a bunch of photos with different combination of people in them, some girls approached Shinichi and a different set approached Kaito.

"May we take a picture with you?"

Some of them were participants in the tournament as seen from their karate outfit while others were either relatives or friends of the participants or just fan girls joining in the crowd.

"Uh, sure…" was the identical answer of the Kudo twins, both followed by a humble smile. Their pleasing smile, however, grew into an expression of surprise as a huge wave of girls came their way with the same intention.

Ran laughed as she watched how the twins messily dealt with the fan crowd. "I know Kaito's enjoying it deep inside."

"Are you not jealous of other girls sticking around Shinichi?" Sonoko, who was beside her, wondered.

She smiled and shook her head. "He's famous the way he is, that's inevitable. And if he enjoys having fans, I will be happy for him as well. After all, that's his price for doing great in his field." She grinned at her friend.

Sonoko played innocent and pointed at Shinichi. "Even if his fans act like that?" She was referring to the girls who were aggressive enough to take Shinichi's arm and wrap it on their shoulders as their pictures were taken.

"Mou~" Ran pouted before turning her frustration into nibbling the tip of the trophy she was holding. "Shinichi-kun~"

Sonoko merely shook her head in dismay. "So jealousy is different from hurting, huh?" She tapped Ran's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Ran, you have me on your side!" Her smile made Ran smile as well and they switched to checking out their photos instead.

Just then, some of Ran's juniors and the other members of Teitan Girls' Karate Club came to her and gave her flowers.

"Ran senpai! You were so amazing!"

"I hope your foot is not hurting anymore, Ran-chan…"

"Let's take a picture together, senpai!"

Even the guys from their male karate club came afterwards, along with their representative in the tournament. The guys also gave her a bouquet of flowers and flooded her with a lot more of praises and questions.

On that exact moment of the boys handing her flowers, Shinichi glanced at Ran and Sonoko, who caught him do so, gave a different meaning to it. _'Destiny is making things turn out more interesting,' _she thought, smirking.

#######

"You tell him!" Kaito said in a teasing way.

"Oh come on, please, Kaito…" Ran tried her best to look convincing.

"You can do it, Ran!" Sonoko cheered, chuckling afterwards.

"Please, you guys have to help me…" Ran continued with the persuasion.

Kaito just laughed and called his twin's attention.

"What's the matter?" Shinichi asked him upon arriving at their side.

"Ran has something to tell you," Kaito tried his best to suppress his laughter.

"What is it, Ran?" Shinichi looked at her and gave her a 'go on, I'm listening' look.

'_He called me Ran~' _She thought, completely spacing out as she dreamily gazed at him.

"Ran?" Shinichi repeated with a little hint of concern in his tone.

'_He said it again! His tone is so lovely~'_

Sonoko then took hold of Ran's shoulders and shook her back to life.

"Oh, uhm…" Ran started upon waking up. After taking a deep breath to slow down her heartbeat, she spoke, "Will you go out with us tonight to karaoke? I was planning to invite you to lunch, actually, but Kaito said that you may not become at ease with it because my dad would be there and he has been literally bothering you since morning. So we came up with the idea of going out to karaoke tonight. Would that be okay with you?" Ran panted after that long continuous speech.

Kaito just laughed, seeing how nervous she was as she spoke. He commended, however, that she didn't stutter that much when she talked to him.

Shinichi, on the other hand, chuckled a little when he heard the thing about Kogoro. "Sure, anywhere's fine," he answered, smiling.

"Really?" Ran's eyes widened while Shinichi simply nodded. Ran's heart wanted to burst like fireworks at that time but his presence was impeding it or more like increasing its momentum before finally letting it go.

And so, they went to a karaoke center in Beika that night.

#######

Shinichi and Kaito arrived at the karaoke room that Ran and Sonoko told them about. They were carrying a chocolate cake they bought as a congratulatory present for Ran.

"Woah, so you're the champion for the third time in a row?" the usually composed Shinichi exclaimed upon seeing the banner hanging on the wall as they entered. The fact that Ran was a pro in karate was already a surprise that he has gotten over, but now another one has been presented to him. "How come I didn't know about it? I mean, we belong to the same batch in Teitan, right?" his brows were really expressing confusion and surprise, but his lips were still in a smile.

"Baka, there's always a big congratulations banner at school whenever Ran wins the tournament. Don't tell me you weren't able to notice that." Kaito looked skeptical.

The still utterly surprised Shinichi shook his head.

"Maybe you were handling a case when the banners were posted." The optimistic Ran chuckled.

"Probably," Sonoko agreed. "Didn't Kaito tell you about it?"

Shinichi shook his head and everyone eyed Kaito in an instant. "What?" the younger Kudo asked, wearing a guilty smile. "We're not the updating-each-other-about-each-other's-friends type of brothers, you know."

Ran pouted at him as Sonoko glared at the same guy. The startled Kaito then followed, "But it was only _before_. Now we're, you know, talking about each other's lives more." His hands were gesturing randomly in an attempt to explain better.

Good thing his brother's curiosity was there to save him. "So that's the reason why you really wanted to participate in the tournament despite your injury?" Shinichi asked Ran. "It would've been regretful not to at least try, right?"

"No~ She just didn't want to disappoint you, since you have expressed your interest to watch her fight," Sonoko and Kaito commented on the side, both snickering mischievously.

Ran fell speechless while Shinichi impassively said, "Oh."

"She wanted to impress you," Sonoko said, giggling evilly.

"And she wouldn't let her sprain get in the way," Kaito added, stifling his evil laughter.

Ran wanted to scold the two but keeping her cheeks from blushing kept her busy. She only glanced at Shinichi from time to time since she couldn't look at him straight in that situation.

It was a relief for Ran, though, that Shinichi was smiling when he asked, "Me?"

"Yes, you," the two naughty cats on the side chorused.

"She didn't want you to see her give up," Sonoko-cat said.

"Or be in her weakest state~" Kaito-cat added.

"Oh," was all Shinichi could say again. This time, however, he had a smile on his lips. He glanced at Ran and the latter who was about to scold her friends instantly froze.

"But she was undecided at first~" Sonoko-cat added.

"Because she was scared to mess up in front of you~" Kaito-cat finished. The two cats then gave each other a high-paw before laughing together.

"Ohh, I see." Shinichi just smirked. His amusement grew when he watched how the tomato-red chibi-Ran scolded her cat friends. He was already knowledgeable about this girl's adoration for him, but being used to having a lot of admirers, he didn't take the matter as a big deal.

###

Later that evening, Ran and Shinichi were made to sit beside each other, which became the reason for Ran to get buried in her seat instead of singing along with the party cats, Sonoko and Kaito.

Shinichi glanced at her and she quickly looked down to hide her flushing face. "Is something bothering you?" He asked, now looking at her intently. She just shook her head and bit her lip instead of articulating her supposed answer.

He decided to encourage her by saying, "Why not sing a song? You should be celebrating." His heartfelt smile was enough to boost her energy and confidence level.

Sonoko came to her side just in time. "Yeah, let's sing, Ran!"

Ran nodded enthusiastically and it made Shinichi smile a bit to see her now relaxed.

"Kaito, toss a mic over here!" Sonoko ordered, glancing at Kaito who was standing on the mini platform, meddling with the buttons of the smaller lyric screen.

"No, I'll go there instead." Ran grinned.

"You should rest your foot Ran," Sonoko stated, merely concerned, but Ran shook her head and insisted to stand up.

"Don't worry about me, Sonoko." Ran's smile, however, was quickly replaced by shock when her left foot failed to support her enough when she got up. She fell out of balance but fortunately, Shinichi was there to promptly stand up and catch her by the elbow and arm.

Their position – Shinichi was holding her from behind like a couple dancing at prom – was picture perfect, but Sonoko's camera was not in her hands at that time, to her dismay.

The very moment, along with the pounding of her heart, seemed to last forever for Ran, but the pause all happened in just a couple of seconds before Kaito sang something which teased her back to reality.

"_Take my hand, I'll take the lead, and every turn will be safe with me," _he sang with full emotion. _"Don't be afraid, afraid to fall. You know I'll catch you through it all."_

Though Kaito's voice was angelic, his intention was wicked. Ran scowled at him while Shinichi just chuckled as he let go of Ran after making sure that she can stand up on her own.

Ran bowed down a little at Shinichi before making her way to the platform, walking as fast as possible to escape from embarrassment.

As they both watched Ran walk away, Sonoko bumped Shinichi with her shoulder and commented, "Kudo-kun, I didn't know you have healing hands. Look how straight she can walk now." She chuckled and he just smirked in response.

They have spent almost an hour just singing and eating snacks. Of course, these minors did not drink alcoholic beverages – just some soda and iced tea.

Within that singing period, even Shinichi was forced to show his abilities. As we all would expect, he showed them how tone-deaf he was but his charms and coolness were strong enough to cover it somehow.

"He's really so cute~" Ran muttered as she watched Shinichi sing. She had her hands clasped beside her right cheek as she stared at her dream guy.

"I used to believe that love is blind; now I know it's also deaf," Sonoko commented, smiling halfheartedly at the dreamy Ran beside her.

###

Sometime later, Ran had Sonoko all to herself to consult when they were on the farthest end of the other sofa, opposite from the one where Shinichi was. They were holding a song book for front but were actually busy talking about one of Ran's worries in life.

"What if he doesn't like the sporty type?" Ran frowned worriedly.

"Come on, Ran. He watched your tournament and even helped out in the trouble earlier. How can you say that he dislikes a sporty girl from that?" Sonoko tried to convince her.

"But what if he just went with Kaito for a brotherly hangout?" Ran contradicted, glancing at the twins who were chatting about the songbook Kaito was showing Shinichi. She added, looking back at her friend, "Or what if he can only tolerate a girl who's just sporty up to a certain extent but is still feminine with everything, unlike me? Kaito always calls me boyish because I punch and kick hard…"

Sonoko's serious face lightened up into a smile. "You shouldn't believe that guy too much. Don't lose hope when the battle is just starting, Ran."

She then stood up and grabbed Ran's arm in the process, startling the latter. "Wait, where are we going?" Ran asked though she did not resist.

Sonoko only responded with a smirk as she continued to drag her friend towards the guys.

"Shinichi-kun," the brunette called the attention of the guy who was drinking his soda at that time. She did not waste any more second and immediately asked, "What's your type of girl? Is a sporty one alright with you?"

Sonoko's straightforward question made Shinichi choke on his drink. He took some time to cough, thinking that the question was rhetorical. However, Sonoko took the space to his right and sat there, staring at him, intently waiting for his answer, so he just smirked and decided to give a response. "Well, I haven't thought of that. It doesn't matter what type of girl it is, anyway," he stated before resting his back on the sofa and drinking some more of his soda to clench his choked throat.

Ran, who was also made to sit on that couch beside/behind Sonoko, was able to see Shinichi's face as he sat back.

He knew that she was looking at him but he chose to pretend not to notice, as he knew that this girl, who was spell-bound by him once again, would just suffer from embarrassment if he let her know that she was caught staring.

Kaito, on the other hand, was pretending to be busy enjoying the crispness of the potato chips as he listened and smirked at what was happening.

"Come on, Shinichi-kun! Just one trait will do," Sonoko whined.

Shinichi pretended to think as he stared at his drink, still wearing his smirk. _'This girl is still getting on my nerves even when I'm my real self.'_

When she started pulling his sleeve as part of her persuasion, he finally replied, "Anything will do," and he kept himself busy drinking as an escape, a you-can't-beat-me smile still present on his face.

Sonoko just whined in defeat. "Mou~ Kaito, help me here!"

Kaito turned to look at her with a big piece of potato chip hanging between his lips. He just muttered, "Forry~" and smiled innocently.

#######

After a few minutes of scheming, Sonoko was able to declare a comeback by suggesting a game.

"I call it, 'How Well Do You Know Your Partner Game'!" She smirked at the greatness of her idea, thinking, _'This way, I'll be extracting a lot more information about you, Shinichi-kun.'_

"You just have to give an answer that would match your partner's answer to a question that would be given by the opposing pair," she explained to the three. "Ran and I will be partners. It's boys versus girls. 30 seconds per question."

"Call," Kaito enthusiastically replied. "Shinichi's mine!" he said childishly, pulling his brother closer.

They managed to have the materials for writing because of the scratch papers and ballpens that were there for the purpose of listing song numbers picked by customers.

"Would there be a consequence for the losing pair?" Ran asked, scared of getting embarrassed in front of her crush for the nth time.

"Hm…" Sonoko looked around. "There!" She pointed towards the table. "Whenever a pair's answers would not match, their opponent would put icing on their faces," she decided confidently, thinking that she and Ran are at an advantage in this game. _'I've read from a magazine that girls remember stuff about their friends and families better than guys do. We're sure to win here.'_

"At the end of the game, we'll take a group picture, so better do your best!" Sonoko added.

"No~ That's the cake that took me forever to decide on…" Kaito whined, pouting.

But Shinichi said at the same time, "That would be interesting," so even if Ran wanted to suggest changing the icing factor for Kaito's sake, she couldn't dare oppose Shinichi.

"I'm sorry, my friend, but I couldn't betray my master…" Ran dramatically told the dramatically crying Kaito.

"Alright, it's decided!" Sonoko declared before handing out the materials to the three. "Ran, you ask the first question." She grinned at her partner.

Ran took some time to think. The deeper her thoughts got, the faster her pulse became. She was excited to know more about Shinichi, but she was too inhibited to dare ask things about him. She decided to always ask about Kaito instead, since she would know the correct answers if it's about him anyway, and to just let Sonoko intentionally or unintentionally teach her more about the guy of her dreams.

So the first question given by Ran was, "What does Kaito answer when asked, 'Why do you think you and Shinichi are fit to be twins?'"

After half-a-minute of scribbling, here are the answers written by the two.

Shinichi: Because we look alike? T_T

Kaito: Since it would be too unfair for the world to have a single person that's genius and talented in all things and twice as handsome as I am, we are better off being in two separate handsome bodies with our talents distributed equally.

Shinichi's jaw dropped after Kaito's answer was read. He found it amusing that Ran declared that sort of an answer as correct. _'She knows him well, alright.' _He chuckled.

"Wow, you two have identical handwritings as well," Ran commented, as she observed the papers they were showing.

Upon hearing that, Shinichi glanced at his paper and smirked, _'Yeah, it would've caused us to be caught switching, otherwise."_

Sonoko, on the other hand, wondered, "How do you manage to write 43 words legibly in just 30 seconds?" Her confused look was aimed at Kaito.

Kaito just chuckled at Sonoko's raising eyebrows and said, "Talent." His self-assurance, however, popped away at the instant Ran put a line of chocolate icing on his cheek. "Whaaa!"

She just giggled seeing him shocked. "You may have been correct, but your answers did not match, sorry." Ran smiled and tilted her head in a sweet, mocking way.

When Ran and Sonoko's eyes met, the latter ordered Ran through eye movements and facial expressions to be the one to put icing on Shinichi. Ran shook her head in opposition, but when Sonoko narrowed her eyes at her, she reluctantly obeyed like a scared little girl.

'_I'm going to put icing on Shinichi's face…' _she told her nervous self as she approached him with some icing on her finger. _'Not all girls get to experience this, I'm sooooo lucky but I'm sooooo nervous! I hope I don't stumble on my way...'_

Poof.

And Shinichi's got brown icing on the tip of his nose.

"Hey! Mine's this long while Shinichi's is just a dot!" Kaito complained, measuring with his fingers the length of the icing line on his cheek.

"Ran's hand just slipped," Sonoko reasoned before laughing. "Your face must've been slippery. Hahaha."

Kaito gritted his teeth childishly at her,but they all just laughed at him.

For the next round, Kaito gave his brother the privilege to ask a question. But before Shinichi spoke, Sonoko suggested that he ask something about Ran. Thinking that there's no harm to it anyway, he did so without complaining.

"What does Ran fear to happen the most?" was Shinichi's question that kindled his brother's interest.

_'I know that one very well.' _Kaito smirked. _'I don't think Sonoko knows that~'_

Ran and Sonoko immediately wrote down their answers. Ran was serious and forceful with her writing while Sonoko was relaxed and slacking off. For the last few seconds, however, Sonoko seemed to have panicked and changed her answer.

"Time's up," Kaito announced, confident that he's going to have vengeance for his icing-stained cheek.

When the two girls flipped their papers to show their answers, it became a disappointment for Kaito.

Ran: Zombie outbreak (o...o)

Sonoko: Shinichi having a gf (crossed out)

Zombie outbreak! (written hastily)

"You must've copied Ran's answer!" Kaito accused Sonoko.

"What are you saying?" The brunette's forehead creased in disbelief. "I was able to change it just in time, and I didn't copy anything, for your information," she replied in a brat's way of saying it.

"No~ You shouldn't know that~ You weren't there when we talked about it before," Kaito claimed.

"I was there!" Sonoko found him weird that she couldn't help but smile despite the confusion. "I was there beside Ran when you two were talking about it before."

Kaito tried to recall that moment in second year junior high when they were walking under the rain and talking about zombies and the possibility of Resident Evil happening in reality. All he can remember was himself and Ran sharing her umbrella, no trace of Sonoko around.

"You weren't there," Kaito insisted, but he was starting to doubt his memory now.

"I _was_ there!" Sonoko chuckled. "Don't tell me you were too focused on Ran that you've forgotten about my presence that time."

Kaito paused seriously for a while to think and then chuckled afterwards and said, "Maybe I was."

Shinichi glanced at Ran intending to see her reaction towards this hint about Kaito's past. Seeing her chuckle naturally at how the two were arguing about the confusion, he realized that she really was oblivious of such fact. He concluded that it was either she was that dense or his brother was just exceptional in hiding his feelings for and from his closest friend.

It was then time for the third round, the round Sonoko has been waiting for. She has already set her question for this and it goes like, "What is Shinichi's type of girl?" She snickered as the other three fell dumbfounded.

Knowing that they don't have any other choice but to answer this, the Kudo twins eventually wrote on their papers.

Kaito's answer was revealed first.

Kaito: kind, caring, simple

"So that's his type!" Sonoko demonstrated her victory pose, a triumph song even playing on the background. "Oh yeah~" But her joy only lasted until the time Shinichi flipped his paper to reveal his answer.

Shinichi: Anything will do.

"Noooooo!" Sonoko and Kaito chorused in frustration, her problem being Shinichi's real answer, while his problem being another icing line to be drawn on him.

"I'm chocolatier than ever," Kaito moped on a corner after Ran drew a line on his right cheek. "Rambo, where are you? I'm ready for battle..." he muttered, referring to brown mud-like lines on his cheeks, as the others just laughed at him.

Shinichi, on the other hand, was just smiling after Ran had drawn him a left mustache. She was still nervous as she drew, especially since she was drawing near his lips, but it was not that noticeable anymore because astonishment for his face was subduing her tension.

Next, it was Kaito's turn to ask. "What is the best thing that's common to both of you?" he said in a serious tone.

Ran: Both nice :P

Sonoko: Both pretty ;)

"Oh yeah! A point for us!" the previously serious Kaito exclaimed. "The correct answer is... Me, 'Kaito'."

"What?" the two girls chorused.

"What?~" Kaito smirked mischievously. "I'm the best thing that's common to both of you, ain't I?"

In a split second, the magically-appearing anime-style big paper fan hit his head.

Ran ended up chuckling as she came to accept his reason, while Sonoko went on with complaining.

"Your question's weird!" Sonoko grunted. "You just want to put icing on us, you're cheating!"

Kaito just laughed wickedly as he drew a line across Sonoko's nose. "Shin, you take care of Ran," he told his brother.

Ran's heart exploded upon hearing that line. Not only can the line mean something else, she didn't expect that Kaito would pass the icing opportunity he has been waiting for to his brother.

As Shinichi scooped some icing with a finger and moved closer and closer to Ran, her blood cells accelerated into the speed of sound in air.

Not knowing what to do in the inescapable situation, she just shut her eyes tight and let things happen the way they should.

In a few seconds, she felt something cold form a curve on her left cheek – it was a curve that opens upward. When she opened her eyes, a smiling face of Shinichi greeted her. He seemed to be enjoying the consequence of the game when he said, "Now we're both frosted with chocolate." And he left her trying hard to control her blush and smile together.

Next up was Ran.

After being able to compose herself, she asked, "What is something that Kaito has but Shinichi doesn't?"

The two boys started to answer right away, and after 30 seconds…

Shinichi: Talent in singing, dancing and cooking

Kaito: Twitter account

Ran and Sonoko cheered, realizing that they get another point.

"You're twins, yet don't know each other enough," Sonoko remarked, chuckling, as she drew another line on Kaito's cheek. From the looks of it, she was planning to put whiskers on his face.

"Why did you answer 'Twitter account', anyway?" Ran wondered, giggling.

"He doesn't have a social life as rich as mine, that's why!" Kaito reasoned as he whined at his reflection on a mirror. Three long whiskers are now on his face.

Shinichi just smiled at Kaito's statement. The thing about social life doesn't bother him at all, and he was used to his brother scolding him about it.

But Ran thought that he might have been offended with that, so she approached him and said, "That's not true; consider us your friends, Shinichi-kun." While saying it, her nervousness and worries about embarrassment all disappeared. Her concern for him prevailed, that's why.

"Yeah, count us in!" Sonoko agreed.

Shinichi just smiled and nodded coolly.

"You see! My friends are not that bad at all," Kaito followed, making Sonoko complain, "And what do you mean by that?"

She was supposed to hit his arm, but he was able to dodge and even mock Sonoko afterwards. As a result, she chased him around the room, with icing on her fingers.

Ran, meanwhile, completed Shinichi's icing mustache. She chuckled when he remarked, "I look more like my dad now," and they ended up laughing together.

Later on, when they were back to the game mode, Shinichi became the representative of his team.

_'From what I have read before, girls are known to do better in remembering important dates than guys do,' _he thought, and so he asked, "When was the exact date that you two first met?"

"Easy piecey~" Sonoko muttered as she wrote. Ran, on the other hand, just smiled as she answered.

When it was time to show the answers, Sonoko flipped her paper first. However, an idea suddenly flashed in her mind, as seen from her quickly-widening eyes.

"Shucks!" Instinctively, she flipped back her paper to change the answer but Kaito stole it from her hand in just a blink of an eye.

"No cheating." He smirked. "Hm, let's see..." He checked her answer and then burst into laughter all of a sudden. "You wrote the present year!"

Sonoko scowled at him and grabbed her paper back. "Careless mistake."

Kaito kept on laughing, while Shinichi compared Ran's answer to that of Sonoko. He just smirked after confirming that the girls should've won this round if it weren't for Sonoko's little mistake.

Ran, who followed Sonoko to the other couch at that time, was trying to cheer up her friend by saying, "Don't worry, Sonoko. Sometimes I carelessly write the present year too when my date of birth is being asked." She stuck her tongue a bit, embarrassed of her version of the same mistake.

In the end, the two girls earned another icing mark – a small vertical line above the previous curve on Ran's cheek and a long line from Sonoko's cheekbone down to her chin – both made by Shinichi.

"Shinichi-kun! How could you be so mean when I have _helped_ you a lot of times today?" Sonoko complained regarding her icing, while glancing at Ran when she emphasized the word 'help'.

With what she just said, Shinichi realized, _'So the help she was referring to earlier was indeed about bridging me and Ran. Thought so.' _He chuckled as he replied, "I'm sorry, Kaito bumped me. I didn't make that line long on purpose, I swear." He was even raising his right palm to convince her, but he couldn't stop smiling.

Ran found him cute – as she always does – and she laughed as well at the series of events. At the back of her mind, she was hoping that this kind of a friendly bonding with these three would not be just for today.

Kaito, on the other hand, acted innocent and just shrugged, though the smile he was wearing was already showing that he was guilty indeed.

For the next round, Sonoko thought of a good question that would grant her and Ran some useful information about Shinichi. But since the basic favorites and hobbies can easily be asked from his twin brother, she decided on the question, "Who is the girl closest to Shinichi?"

Having heard Sonoko's question, Ran's hands suddenly got cold as her heartbeat accelerated a bit. She believed that Sonoko has a good reason for asking that, but she did not know if she was ready to hear some bad news from the answers.

Shinichi thought about what to answer. _'Right now, I guess it's Ran because of our switching… but I can't say that.'_

After the 30-second time, the two boys showed what they wrote.

Kaito: Mom! =P

Shinichi: Sato-keiji? O_o

Another mismatched answer for the boys that Sonoko rejoiced about.

Although Ran was relieved because he addressed the girl by her surname, which signifies that they are not that close of friends, she was still anxious to hear the succeeding explanation.

Her worry was suspended, however, when Sonoko asked for Kaito's reason and he explained, "I thought mom was the only girl in his life." He laughed before continuing, "Looks like my friendless twin is improving a little." He bumped his brother's upper arm as he teased.

Shinichi just smirked, never losing his cool stance despite Kaito's teasings.

Ran, on the other hand, was overpowered by her concern once again that she forgot about the other-girl factor when she lightly slapped Kaito's upper arm and scolded him, "You're so mean to your brother." He just chuckled as a response.

"Who's this Sato-keiji?" Sonoko then asked, bringing back Ran's anxiety. The latter's heart thumped so loudly and slowly as she waited for Shinichi's answer.

"She's a comrade of Megure-kebu and Takagi-keiji." He grinned. "She's the only girl in HQ that I get to talk with, so I guess you can consider her the closest as of now." He shrugged, smiling. The way he said it suggested that he merely answered for the sake of having an answer and this made Ran secretly sigh in relief on the side.

"Ohh…" Sonoko smirked after having confirmed that Ran has no threats to worry about.

"I told you he's friendless," Kaito muttered beside Ran and it granted him a quick hit on the arm again. Now relieved, she just smiled and chose not to further scold Kaito.

At the end of the round, though, Kaito gained another long whisker while Shinichi got a small beard as punishment.

The next one to give a question was Kaito. "What was the anime that became Ran's favorite during 3rd year junior high?"

He was confident that their answers would not match again this time, knowing that Sonoko did not like that particular anime and so she would probably be unfamiliar with its title. The game was becoming more like 'ask-something-that-your-opponent-doesn't-know' already because of the icing consequence that he wanted to exploit.

As the 30 seconds passed, it was noticeable that Sonoko had a hard time thinking about the answer.

Ran: School Rumble! :)

Sonoko: Rival Schools? #_#

"Waahhh, so my title's close to the correct one!" She made an annoyed face as she released her frustration by shaking Kaito, who was beside her, back and forth.

Kaito just laughed at her mistake, not minding what she was doing to him. "You should've watched it before. It was a good anime, ne Ran?" he stated as he drew a long line on Sonoko's left cheek similar to the one on her right.

"Yup! It's so random and funny but the love story was nice," Ran replied. After Shinichi completed the smiley on her cheek with the last line of icing, she turned to him, fighting her shyness, and asked in her attempt to be friendly, "Do you also know that anime, Shinichi-kun?"

As they talked, however, the other two bickered about the long icing line once again, with Kaito reasoning, "I just drew the exact reflection of what my exact reflection did!"

Going back to Shinichi and Ran, his reply was, "Yeah, I got to watch it whenever Kaito conquered the TV back then." His smile turned into a chuckle as he said, "Harima is the funniest; he always assumes the wrong ideas."

Ran and Shinichi laughed but was then stopped by Sonoko when she said, "So it was a comedy after all? I thought it was about thugs and delinquents, that's why I didn't want to watch it." She laughed at herself.

"Just because it has 'Rumble' on its title doesn't mean it's about thugs. How weak~" Kaito commented smugly, intending to tease her.

"Why you!" Sonoko caught his left ear and pinched it as hard as she could as she laughed like a witch.

"Oww! Cut it out!" Kaito was both grumbling in pain and still laughing that you wouldn't know if you should let him go or not.

'_My twin must really be a masochist…' _Shinichi though, eyes completely turned into two dots. He recalled how many times Kaito has been hit this evening all because of the teasing and mocking, which he was still doing.

Moving on to the next round, Ran asked, "Who was Kaito's biggest junior high crush?"

Her question made Shinichi blink twice, thinking, _'She had the guts to ask that herself? O_O'_

He glanced at his brother who was so relaxed while answering. Since time was already running out, he just wrote the best answer he knew.

Shinichi: Mouri Ran? ^_^;

Kaito: Mizunashi Ranna

Ran chuckled before declaring, "The correct answer is Mizunashi Ranna! Where did you get that one, Shinichi-kun?"

"Ehhh?" Shinichi's eyes grew wide as he double-checked Kaito's answer. "Who's Mizunashi Ranna?"

Kaito just smirked confidently and let Ran do the explanation.

"Kaito must've kept it from you." She scowled slightly and then grinned. "I'll tell you about it." Ran glanced at Kaito before continuing, and he just gestured his head upward, telling her to go on.

"During first year junior high, our class played truth or dare and Kaito was made to confess about the girl he likes. It took a lot of convincing, blackmailing and encouragement for him to finally give his answer – Mizunashi Ranna. I realized that it must have been because Ranna is a famous Jpop artist and actress, and that Kaito was too shy to admit that he has a crush on someone as hard-to-reach and as famous as Ranna. Being someone who was counting his fans, it must have been against his pride to be a fan of a more famous girl." She chuckled.

'_What a lame excuse. It's still so obvious." _He smiled halfheartedly at his brother. _'Lucky for you that there really is a Ranna. It must have been a lot easier to cover up 'Ran' with 'Ranna', whether in writing or saying her name…'_

Shinichi imagined how Kaito must have used that word play to his advantage.

_#~~~~~_#~~~~~#

"_It's… It's Ran-na… Mizunashi Ranna." Kaito kept his head low as he couldn't dare look at how Ran would react to his big truth-or-dare revelation._

_#~~~~~_#~~~~~#

#~~~~~#~~~~~#

_The absent-minded Kaito was caught by Ran writing something repeatedly on his notebook during a boring class. When she tried to check what it was, he pulled it close, covered it with his arms and scribbled on it quickly before pretending to give up and show Ran what he was hiding – the name "Ranna" all over the page._

_#~~~~~_#~~~~~#

"_Too bad I wasn't able to tease him a lot that time.' _Shinichi smirked.

"Anyway, from the time I have found out about that," Ran continued, "I tried to help him, despite teasing him occasionally, of course. Whenever we saw Ranna's poster and I would tease him, he would get angry in a unique way." She tried to imitate his voice and said, "'Stop it or I'm gonna be angry with you,' he would say that while smiling and the way he would speak was so frail that you wouldn't really believe that he's getting angry." Her forehead creased; up to now, his behavior back then was still weird for her.

'_That must have hurt for him to be teased by the one he likes to another girl, that's why,' _Shinichi thought, attentively listening.

"Knowing that he wouldn't buy or download Ranna collectibles on his own," Ran continued her serious narration, "I gave him Ranna's posters, albums, T-shirt, pictures and other goodies, even if he said that his high-rise pride would just lead him into throwing them away." She then smiled earnestly when she said, "At the end of the day, he kept everything I gave him, anyway."

'_Even if the picture and the other things bear the name and image of another person, the fact that it came from you was what he cherished…' _Shinichi's mind explained. _'I can't blame her; I was also too dense at that time! I wasn't even aware of what my brother was going through…'_

Sonoko was quiet all the while, but she was still showing a smile. She knew the truth back then and was asked to keep it hidden, so she chose to remain silent about the matter instead. She knew so well that Ran would reaaaally be bothered by her conscience if she knew about Kaito's feelings before. She always disliked being a burden to others, so for sure, knowing the truth would drive her nuts.

Kaito, on the other hand, remained cool and composed. He chuckled occasionally at Ran's narration and in the end, he still had his confident smirk and serene aura that neither Shinichi nor Sonoko could tell how he really felt. Keeping a poker face was indeed a magnificent skill of this guy.

The four spent the rest of the evening playing and learning something new about each other for every round of their game. …and of course, putting icing on each other's faces.

For the whole duration of the game, Ran kept on asking about Kaito that Shinichi discovered more about his twin. Likewise, Sonoko asked about Shinichi consistently, taking note of everything that would be useful in nourishing the Ran-Shinichi love team she was managing.

Kaito's questions, meanwhile, were often about Ran, his reason being "Ran knows all about Sonoko so she's likely to be correct always. I'll ask about Ran instead, so that Sonoko would be wrong, hahaha!"

Shinichi, on the other hand, did not have any pattern on his questions. He just enjoyed the game and took hold of everything he learned about the three.

All in all, that was how this very looooong day turned out to be the happiest day for Mouri Ran.

###############

To be continued…

###############

**Author's Notes:**

(*takes a deep breath…..*)

FINALLY! It's done! It's finished!

It took 1 year and 9 days to finally patch up this chapter completely, whew~ #_#

Omatase shimashita… #_#

I really really hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as I did in composing it ^_^ there has been a lot of randomness and impromptu stuff yet again, but I hope you get to like the whole thing ^_^;

My greatest appreciation and gratitude to everyone who gave a review last time, subscribed to alert, and added Twins and me to their favorites ^o^ thanks a lot lot lot! There's a different happiness and excitement whenever I see in my email's inbox ^.^ Your expression of your appreciation of this fic keeps me determined to update and to finish this story! ^-^

I hope you'll consider submitting another review for this chap so I'll know what you think about it, hehehe ^_^

Special thanks to Alkyone! :D she even mailed me to ask how Twins and I have been doing, and expressed her never-ending support! So sweet =3

Special thanks, as well, to those who give reviews almost every chapter! ^o^

Thanks again everyone, and I hope you enjoyed reading the _Energy Drink _^o^

#######

Now here's something to be excited about…

…or at least be curious about! haha XD

_What will you do if the project you are managing is lacking financial support?_

_What will you do if you have a friend that's so freaking charismatic that he can get everything he needs even without actually needing them?_

_What will you do if there's nothing else you can do?_

_What's the best thing to do?_

…_Submit a review!_

_Err- tune in and calmly wait for the next chapter! XD_

_Chapter 13: Dates for Sale_

"_If the person you like the most is for sale, how much are you willing to pay?"_

"_Do they accept credit cards?~"_


	13. Dates For Sale

**Twins**

**by Rei-chu Asakura**

**AN: **In celebration of the 100th review for Twins, here's the long-awaited (really?XD), almost-one-year-in-the-making Chapter 13! \(^o^)/ I hope you enjoy it :D and please tell me what you think after reading n_n or at least, bug me to update XD reviews are spark plugs that ignite my writing engine, haha XD ahem, forgive the random randomness. Alright, here you go!~ ^o^ oh, I don't own Detective Conan and its characters, I know you know that already XD Merry Christmas everyone! Here's my gift to all of you! :D

Oh, a bit of notice to the public XD When you see 'Shinichi', it means Kaito as Shinichi. When you see 'Kaito', it means Shinichi as Kaito. Alrightie?

**######################################################################**

**Chapter 13: Dates for Sale**

Shinichi stared at the big screen in front of him, his eyelids almost falling down to the pits of boredom.

_'This was supposed to be a comedy but it's just an hour-and-a-half of green jokes, drunk men and sexy ladies.' _He took a sip of his drink as he shifted on his seat. _'Not my kind of movie, really. There's no mystery to solve or mind-bugging matters at least.' _He looked at the blond girl to his left. _'It's not like I have a choice anyway. My dates get to choose what we'll do and I am bound to follow. I don't even know why I allowed my so-called managers to do this to me.' _He couldn't help but sigh and smile halfheartedly at his last thought.

Although it was dark, he has noticed so far that the girl was enjoying the show. She was laughing at the licentious scenes and not blushing or getting offended like how typical girls would be. This unusualness made him smile a little before he focused on the screen again. _'Well, at least we don't have to talk that much in a movie-date. This kind of date must be the easiest.'_

Suddenly, he sensed the device on his jacket pocket vibrating. Being familiar with this signal, he discreetly turned his head towards the seats to his right and in a few rows behind his seat, he quickly spotted the two girls he was looking for. _"Don't look bored! It'll ruin the date!"_ was written on a flashcard Sonoko was holding. She looked agitated, very different from her companion, Ran, who looked embarrassed as she lit up the cardboard with her cell phone's backlight.

He gave the two a tepid smile before he looked straight ahead. _'Ran doesn't have to be embarrassed; we're the only ones here, anyway.' _He glanced at the empty seats around. _'With the Suzuki family being a big stockholder of this mall, Sonoko was able to make the cinemas and the mall itself be open as early as 6am. She's really a spoiled kid.'_

A few more minutes later, the movie ended. Shinichi and his date were now walking outside while the girl enthusiastically discussed the parts she liked about the movie. From the way she laughs and the cheerfulness she was showing, he figured she must be the kind of girl who plays pranks on her friends while in the girls' changing room or talks about embarrassing stuff in a carefree manner. Or maybe not. Guessing someone's personality is not as easy as guessing their occupation. But at least his detective mind had something entertaining to do.

Her tales, his thoughts and their steps were, all of a sudden, interrupted by an alarm sound coming from the device in his jacket pocket. Then an announcement came from behind them, "Time's up, Milly-chan!" It turned out to be Sonoko, using a small megaphone toy to announce something even when they were within audible range in this unpopulated-yet mall. Ran came with a follow-up, though she opted to speak without the pink megaphone, "You may claim your photos tomorrow at our booth." The two then chorused, "Thank you for your patronage!"

Sonoko nudged Shinichi with her elbow, signaling him to say something. "Uh, thanks for today, Milly-san. I hope you had fun." He forced a smile after stating his scripted line. He felt like he was a robot ideal boyfriend from a Jdrama but he shoved those thoughts away to focus on his task.

The blond girl smiled back at him and replied, "Thank you, Kaito-kun. Thanks for the flowers, too." She gestured towards the bouquet of red roses she has been holding. He nodded in return, a real smile forming on his lips. It was disrupted, however, when Sonoko nudged him again. He gave her a 'what now?' look and she countered it with a 'do it!' glare.

He immediately realized what Sonoko was talking about and he knew he had to do it for the sake of world peace. He held back all the sigh, complaint and resistance he had in him so as not to make the cheerful blonde in front of him feel bad. Then, with a swift but smooth move, he took her right hand, bowed down a little and gave it a kiss. The girl who was so talkative earlier looked like she was about to faint any minute now. His smile and his words made her blush even more when he said, "Take care on your way home."

And with that, the three walked away from the girl who was still left in a trance.

"Are you sure it's alright to leave her like that?" Ran asked.

"Yep," was Sonoko's nonchalant response. "I leave you like that when you're in a Shinichi-trance and you wake up after a minute or two. There's nothing dangerous that could happen within that small amount of time."

Shinichi couldn't help but react mentally at what he was hearing. _'She sounded so accustomed to it.' _He then focused on the achievement at hand and smiled. '_Anyway, that's one down and…' _"How many more, Sonoko?" he asked the brunette.

She smirked at him before walking ahead. "Counting will only frustrate you, Kaito." Her annoying laughter was heard afterwards.

He didn't know if it was a good thing or not that Ran was nice enough to be honest with him. "There are 13 more to go, Kaito. Ganbatte ne." She smiled before leaving his side to help Sonoko prepare the materials for the next date.

"Seriously?" He was left dumbfounded and asking the same question for the nth time this week. He couldn't help but trace back the first time he did so…

###################################**Flashback**###################################

"Seriously?!" Shinichi's voice echoed in the gym, making everyone in there glance at him. The props team was having a meeting on the floor while the acting team was on the stage, rehearsing some scenes, so there were a lot of eyes on him when he freaked out. He didn't care about the attention he was drawing, though. He cared way more about the suggestion that has just been given.

"If it's okay with you, that is," Ran sheepishly replied.

"Of course it's okay with him, Ran!" Sonoko reassured. "He can't just turn down your wonderful suggestion, you know. Right Kaito?" She grinned at him.

'_This girl…' _Shinichi stared at the brunette as she continued smiling evilly at him._ 'Her smile tells me that Ran has talked about this with her beforehand and she must've told Ran not to tell me about it until this meeting so I won't be able to refuse… especially since this big group is here to convince me.'_

"You just have to go on a few dates and poof! We'll have our props fund in an instant," Sonoko coolly stated.

"And we'll call it: Dates for Sale," Ran added, looking ahead dramatically to emphasize the greatness of what she was saying. At that moment, he realized that even his supposed bestfriend was on the enemy's side. He had no one to back him up.

"But isn't it…" he muttered, though he didn't really know what to say.

"Don't worry, Kaito-kun. We'll take care of all the preparations!" said a girl with twin-tail hairstyle.

"Yeah, we'll set up the booth tomorrow morning," another girl said.

"I'll help you with that," prompted another one.

"I'll take care of the poster and publicity materials!" another one volunteered.

"Great, you girls are really reliable!" Sonoko remarked.

"They're very supportive~" Ran took delight in the responses. "You see, Kaito. All you have to do is to go on the dates. You've got all of us to take care of everything else."

"Ran and I will be your managers," added Sonoko, gaining the smile of the former.

"But… why dates?" was all he could muster. "Isn't there any other way to get the fund we need? Sonoko, you're filthy rich, aren't you?"

"We're not allowed to spend our own money; that's against the school regulations," Ran explained. "And because of that, we have to come up with a fund-raising project."

"Are you turning down Ran's idea?" Sonoko raised a deadly brow at him.

"N-no, it's just-" He noticed that everyone in the group was intently looking at him, waiting for his grand approval. This made him feel uneasy. _'As Kaito, am I supposed to tolerate even this kind of thing just because it's Ran's idea? Twin brother, help me here.' _When his mind calmed down, he sighed. "Let me ask you first, what led you to this idea?" He looked at Ran seriously. He wanted to know if there was a logical reason behind it that could help him decide. "Why me? Why dates?"

"Well…" Ran looked away from him. He feared, at first, that he might have passed the pressure of being on the hot-seat to her, but the smile that quickly appeared on her face told him he was mistaken. "While I was thinking of fund-raising ideas, I noticed something about you." His interest was stirred so she went on, "Yesterday, after our morning classes, you muttered 'I'm hungry' and three girls came by your seat and offered you their bento right away. They were even skillfully arranged and cute. The other day, we had a seatwork in physics and a lot of girls volunteered to be your partner. This morning, you were sleepy in Music class and you haven't even finished yawning but there was already a can of coffee and some coffee candies on your desk. Whenever it rains, there's no doubt that a girl or two would offer to share their umbrella with you, but you always turn them down, saying you have your own even if you really don't. I don't know why you do that, though. Anyway, you also—"

"Alright, alright. So I am _quite_ popular with girls," he cut her before she could spill some of his twin's habits that are supposed to be kept from his fan girls. That umbrella thing was one. He assumed that Kaito must have been turning down those offers because he wanted to walk home with Ran… or so, if he still likes her up to now.

"Not just _quite _popular. You _are _popular!" Ran declared. "And if you could earn a hundred yen for every fan-love you receive, you can actually buy a new electric guitar every month, you know."

Her statement made him do mental calculations instinctively. _'So if an electric guitar costs about 20,000 yen, then Kaito gets about 200 fan-loves every month. That's about seven fan-loves per day.'_

"And that's just a rough estimate," she added. "Love letters and fan gifts are not yet included."

Shinichi wanted to laugh but he suppressed it. _'So there's someone taking note of those data.'_

"So what can you say?" asked Sonoko.

"Well…" He hasn't arrived to a decision yet. He even has to consult his brother about this, because the dates would be on a weekend and they are in their normal roles on weekends - except when there are play rehearsals or props-making, that is.

"If you really don't want the dates, we can always resort to a mini concert," Ran casually suggested. "But if possible, I don't want to bother your bandmates with this." She took a few seconds to think. "Ah! I know! You can sing solo on a mini concert! If you choose that, we won't have to do it on the weekend. Friday will do."

"No, no! Dates are perfect," was his quick response. He turned jumpy when concert and singing were mentioned. Knowing that Kaito has a play rehearsal this Friday -almost everyday, actually- he knew he would either be Shinichi and attend the rehearsal or be Kaito and sing. Both, he didn't like.

"Really?" Ran's eyes enthusiastically widened at him before all the girls cheered in victory.

'_What have I gotten myself into~' _He cupped his forehead with a hand for the rest of the meeting, lamenting about what just happened.

However, after talking about the 'Dates for Sale' preparations further, the props team discussion strangely went to a different direction.

"You know, we can do this Dates for Sale in the school festival."

"We can do a host cafe just like in the anime!"

"Ikemen Cafe! Kyaaaa!"

"Yeah. Class A and B can team up so both Kaito-kun and Shinichi-kun can be available."

"That's a great idea!"

"But, Shinichi..." Ran muttered, looking worried though she was obviously trying not to look so by smiling.

Sonoko gave her a pat on the shoulder. "I know it's hard for you to give him away, but think about it. Even organizers can be customers."

"Well..." Ran seemed to be considering the idea.

"We can dress up the Kudo Twins to play different characters! Just like in Ouran High School Host Club!" one of the girls blurted out.

"Yes! I was thinking of that, too!" another one said. Then more ideas gushed forth.

"Kaito-kun would be the prince type while Shinichi-kun would be the cool eyeglass-wearing type."

"Just like Tamaki and Kyouya!"

"And when it comes to Honey-senpai, that'd be Kaito-kun since the cheerful and childish character suits him."

"So Shinichi-kun would be the stoic type Morinozuka? Kyaaaaa!"

"Hey, don't forget the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru!"

"Yeah, Shinichi-kun and Kaito-kun are twins to begin with. That's perfect!"

"I wonder who's suited to be Hikaru and who will be Kaoru~"

"Hey, we can also add some more roles! Like Lelouch and Suzaku of Code Geass!"

"Kyaaaaa! I vote Shinichi-kun to be Lelouch and Kaito-kun to be Suzaku!"

"The emperor and the knight!"

"That'd be awesome~"

"I can't wait for the school festival to arrive~"

"Me too~" Ran was now one of the girls who was staring dreamily at the ceiling. She wasn't worrying about Shinichi getting cut into many pieces by his fan girls anymore and, instead, was actively participating in the weird brainstorming that was going on.

Shinichi just sighed as he watched them. _'Have they forgotten about my presence? Don't I get to have a say here?'_

###################################**End** **Flashback**###################################

"So 14 girls were fast enough to book a date with me and pay that outrageous price," Shinichi concluded with a sarcastic smile.

"Yes, so be proud of it. You're expensive, man!" Sonoko countered without giving him a glance. She was taking some things from their classmate who just arrived.

"There would probably be a season two for this. A lot of girls were demanding a second chance," Ran muttered while checking the list she was holding.

"Second season?" Shinichi mumbled. "Am I some sort of a show?"

"Ran, are these correct?"

"Yes. Please call Team C after this, Sonoko, and tell them to escort the target to our location. I'll go get the snack we ordered once it's ready." Apparently, the two girls ignored his complaint yet again.

"Hai hai! Delivery from headquarters checked and complete, Ma'am!" Sonoko saluted to Ran before turning to Kaito. "You, hurry up and change into these!" She handed him some clothes that she got from their classmate. "Our next client wants you to wear a black suit and these cool glasses. I must say, she's got a good taste."

"Why do I have to change my clothes? This one you gave me earlier is alright already," Shinichi replied lazily.

"It's part of the date package!" Sonoko said. "They get to choose how you would look like."

"Does it matter?" he complained like a typical boy tired of girls' whims.

"Silly, they wouldn't want their pictures with you to look like that with other girls, would they?" Ran answered, giggling. Shinichi's reaction told her that the point was well taken. "You're used to that anyway. Kazuha-chan likes dressing you guys up for performances, pictorials and video recordings."

_'Ah, yeah. My brother lives a celebrity life.'_

"Alright then, after you change, get that bouquet of pink roses from Sonoko." Ran pointed towards the brunette who was busy with a phone call. "Our next client's name is Lucy. Hand her the flowers the same way you did earlier with Milly, okay? Goodluck, Kaito!" She smiled earnestly before she left.

Shinichi couldn't do anything but sigh.

'_Wondering why I'm the one doing these dates as Kaito?'_

###########################**Shinichi's POV & Flashback**###########################

_Of course the idea of selling dates with me and my brother 'Shinichi' came up, but Ran and Sonoko said we couldn't ask 'Shinichi' to help us because it might be too much of a bother to him, given that he's often in the acting rehearsals. He's not even a member of the props team, to start with. But somehow I feel prejudiced, heh~ I bet they just couldn't dare torture 'Shinichi' like this since they're not that close friends with him. Ah~ if only they knew who I really am~_

_When I told my twin about this, he just laughed and said, _"That's popularity increase for me without having to do anything."_ I knew it, I've seen it coming. He won't take his role as Kaito back just for those dates. I know he's especially friendly with girls but he knew Sonoko and Ran better than I do. He must've pictured everything I'll go through today and decided not to get involved. That smart guy…_

_He gave me a valid excuse, though, and that's the resto-bar that Jirokichi-san, Sonoko and Kazuha's uncle, was going to open soon. Their band would be playing regularly there, aside from their schedules in other places, so they would have to prepare for that. Sensing my worry, he assured, _"Don't fret, my dear brother. Ran doesn't go to our night gigs most of the time because she has to take care of her drunk dad… or was it because her protective dad doesn't want her to stay outside that late?" _He could really be carefree even in his busiest times; it was obvious from the way he laughed._ "And minors aren't allowed at the place where we perform and she doesn't want to use her connections just to get pass through the guards. So there won't be any problem with our switching. Anyway, your props-making stuff with Ran and the others don't last up to about 9pm, right? Kaito's band schedule and props activities won't be in conflict."

_He said they were to finalize their new songs this weekend and try to cover foreign songs that are hitting the charts these days because the audience would probably ask them to perform those. It must be tough to _really _be Kaito, but he seems to be enjoying all his engagements, nevertheless. When I asked him if he's gonna be okay with the way things are –-play rehearsals during homeroom time, lunch break and in the afternoon and then band meetings and gigs at night— he replied with _"That's just how being famous is. I'm used to it. Hahahaha!" _He was even more concerned about his best friend. _"Just take good care of Ran while you are in my place during the day, alrightie?" _Even when I suggested "Why not use that important band meeting this weekend to exempt the person named 'Kaito' from this date-business?" he answered me with _"Aww, don't spoil Ran-chan's plan!~ Knowing her, she's doing the preparations with all she's got. Your teammates are full-force on this; you must do your best too as the frontliner! I'm sure it will work out smoothly; Ran's in charge after all." _That guy... He kept saying he doesn't have feelings for her anymore but he's always "Ran this, Ran that" that I really suspect otherwise. Lingering feelings may still ignite with the right spark, you know. I learned that from some of the cases I've dealt with._

_Anyhow, what bothered me a little -alright, alright, it might not just be 'a little'— was his remark, _"It'll be a good chance for you to have a good time, Mr. No-Social-Life." _Really, do I look like a person deprived of friends? Well, I might be skipping school sometimes just to intrude interesting cases –and I get a good scolding from Megure-kebu because of that— but I still have some friends in school! We're just not super-close-friends like him and Ran and Sonoko, tch. And about dating as a social life, I just see it pointless to spend your weekend with someone that you're not looking forward to be with anyway. I know you guys there get what I mean. I'm not being defensive here at all, right? What the heck, enough with this monologue! Ah, but I can't help it, this second movie is boring~~_

##############################**End POV**##############################

Without realizing it, Shinichi's consciousness drifted onto another planet. He only awoke upon the feeling of a paper ball hitting his head. Blinking a few times, he sat up straight and uncrumpled the paper ball that landed on his lap. Written on it were the lines:

_Don't fall asleep, baka! –Sonoko_

_She was looking forward to watching this movie with you, don't fail her. –Ran_

He glanced at its source and pouted at them like a sulking boy before turning back to the movie. _'Why didn't they use the alarming-and-vibrating twin timer that the professor gave us? They have the other one with them and they could easily send me a signal to look at them just like earlier,' _he wondered. As if his mind was being read, another paper ball hit him on the head and landed on top of his arm. It gave him the answer to his question.

_Because it's more fun to throw paper balls at you. Hahaha!_

'_Tsk, those two…' _A smile managed to escape his lips despite how he wanted to look annoyed.

During the dates, Ran and Sonoko would be around the vicinity to manage their 'product' and secretly take pictures to capture the sweet moments that their customers would certainly scream "kyaaaaaa!~" and faint for. In the case of the movie dates, they were in the seats at the right, just a few rows behind the couple, to make it easy to communicate with their 'product' whenever he needed guidance or he deserved to be scolded for being insensitive to his date partner. They also had their inconspicuous camera perfectly positioned somewhere in front of the dating couple. It was operated with a remote control and even came with a small, separate digital display where the two managers could monitor what was going on despite their distance from the couple.

The dates also feature the 'product' wearing the attire that the customers chose and giving them a bouquet of flowers of their preferred kind. The 'product' also comes with some scripted sweet lines that would surely make the girls' knees wobble in their attempt to hold back their squeals. In other words, the dates were planned with the customers' 100% satisfaction in mind.

Moving on, as Shinichi was trying to catch up with what happened in the movie, he suddenly sensed something from the girl beside him. Right away, he pressed the signaling button on his timer device and his managers responded to him promptly. He had to commend their readiness because they gave him a tissue box, just what he needed, but he didn't expect them to throw it at him just like what they did with the paper balls. Good thing his reflexes were fast enough to catch it before it hit him.

Saving his complaints about his managers for later, he faced the girl and called her attention. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she smiled sheepishly at him and said, "I'm sorry, I just get easily moved by these kinds of scenes. I didn't know this movie was-"

"Shhh…" Hushing her apologies, he reached out a hand and wiped away a teardrop with his finger. While the girl blushed furiously at his actions, he spoke, "An anime character once said that perspiration are the tears of the body and likewise, tears are the perspiration of the heart. So it's just healthy to cry sometimes, Lucy-san." He smiled warmly at her and it earned him an enthusiastic nod from the teary-eyed girl. She was biting her lower lip as she sobbed cutely but she looked happy now. Seeing it as a success, he offered her the tissue box. _'My managers sure taught me those good moves well.' _Shinichi smiled to himself._ 'But the way she looked just now… ah, maybe she was touched by Asakura Yoh's quote.'_ Shinichi didn't know it, but from a fellow fan girl's point of view, Lucy was just holding back the urge to embrace him then and there for his sweetness.

A little while later, Shinichi noticed the unusual silence of his managers. He knew that he looked very unmotivated as he faced the big screen (and the camera), but they weren't complaining nor simply throwing anything at him. Curiosity kindled, he glanced at them and his heart stumbled upon a beat for some unknown reason when he saw Ran in tears.

#######

Ran was wiping her eyes like a little girl while smiling at herself. "I'm really glad you're the one beside me, Sonoko. If it were him, he'd be teasing me for crying at sad movie scenes like these." She chuckled—or sobbed, whichever of the two.

"Don't worry about it, Ran. You can count on me at times like this." The brunette caressed her friend's back as she spoke somewhat nonchalantly. "Tearjerkers are not exactly my type of movie but I won't laugh at you like that stupid guy." As they talked, their eyes remained locked on the screen, awaiting the next thing that will happen to the unfortunate main character.

"Sonoko~ it's not actually my type of movie too," Ran said before another batch of tears were set free from her eyes the moment that the main character found out the truth about her father. This time, crying was evident in Ran's voice. "I just get moved by these kinds of circumstances easily. And the background music-" Ran was stopped when Sonoko jerked all of a sudden. The brunette's hand was still on her back so she felt her surprise too. Before she could ask what happened, the paper ball that fell on her lap caught her attention. It was bigger than the earlier crumpled papers they threw, so she guessed that it must've been from someone else. As she took hold of it, she glanced at the brunette on her right and saw this girl holding her forehead and making an angry face towards the most probable source of the paper ball that probably hit her head. Ran looked that way as well but she only saw a guy pretending to be focused on the screen. She then checked the paper ball and found out that it was bigger because it wrapped a neatly-folded-to-its-limit dark blue handkerchief. There were actually two sheets of paper which were all too familiar, with their previous handwritings crossed out on it and amended by a different penmanship which merely said, "Crybaby" Seeing this made Ran smile.

Sonoko couldn't help but comment, "He didn't fool around with you for a change, huh?"

Ran nodded and chuckled as she pressed the soft fabric on her tear-stained cheeks. "Maybe the things we taught him are influencing him too much." When she noticed him glance at them, she soundlessly mouthed the words "Thank you" to him. He turned away with only a small smile responding to her warm one.

**######################################################################**

Meanwhile in Teitan High, four girls were chatting while organizing stuff at the back stage in the gym.

"Mou, today is Kaito-kun's Dates for Sale~ Too bad I wasn't able to avail a date with him!~"

"Aww, don't feel bad, Yuki-chan. Look, at least Shinichi-kun is here with us, tehee~"

"That's right! If Shinichi-kun were also in that Dates for Sale, I'd be more than willing to spend my life savings for it! Ahahaha~"

"There you go again with your Shinichi-madness, Chigusa. He might hear you, y'know."

"As for me, even if my role in the play is only a minor one, I'm happy to be in the same team as Shinichi-kun. I can gape at him all I want every rehearsal time!"

Unbeknownst to these girls, the person they were talking about (or at least, the person he was trying to be) just passed behind them, grinning to himself from ear to ear. "Nice way to start my morning," he muttered. He didn't expect to encounter Aoko right away and this made his grin retreat a little.

She must've heard what he and the girls said, that's why her remark was as icy as, "Pompous Mr. Popular." She only said it to herself, but he was sure he was the intended recipient of such a comment.

Seeing this as a possible sign that she was jealous, or at least a proof that she's taking a notice of him somehow, his smile grew wider than it was a while ago. Since she was going to the opposite direction, he quickly switched his footing and strode along with her. "Good morning, Aoko-chan!" However, the girls earlier noticed him as well, so they called his attention and circled up around him. They started a small talk, asking him if he has eaten breakfast already and the like. Having enough experience, he knew that their real purpose was fan-girling and being the generous fanservice-giving fellow he is, he let them have their way. Although, this took away from him the chance to bug Aoko some more.

**######################################################################**

Going back to the date activity…

"Sorry I'm late!" greeted a girl who was having a hard time catching her breath while propping her hands on her knees. From the looks of it, she came running from wherever she came from.

Shinichi and the gang have been waiting for the next customer for quite a while now but instead of feeling relieved when a girl presented herself, they were all taken aback seeing a young one who didn't look qualified to be in a date.

"I'm Yamada Aoi." She stood up straight and grinned, her long purplish-black hair swaying in the process.

Seeing this girl who was just as tall as Shinichi's shoulder, the date managers had to blink a few times before they could utter their doubt. "You're the Yamada Aoi who bought a date with this guy?" They pointed towards the young detective.

The girl simply nodded before looking up at the lad. "Oh, so you're the Kudo Kaito guy, huh? Nice to meet you." She offered a handshake which Shinichi reluctantly took. Indeed, she looked young but she had the right manners needed in an initial encounter.

Straightforward as he was, his first words to her were, "How old are you?"

It took her a few seconds to digest his weird greeting before she indifferently replied with, "How old are _you_?"

He wasn't planning to engage in a repetitive question battle with her so he just gave her the answer, "17."

"Then I am 17 as well," she stated. It sounded odd but she looked serious enough, earning uncertain smiles from the other two girls.

"You're not from Teitan, are you?" Interest stirred by this peculiar girl, Shinichi confirmed the very first thing he noticed about her. He couldn't help but smirk at this new subject of observation.

"Yes but… I can still have the date with you, right?" She looked a bit worried. "I need this to make Souma-san jealous."

"Who's Souma-san? You're boyfriend?" Sonoko smiled mischievously.

"No, he's my ideal big brother." Noticing the others' perplexed reaction, she decided to explain further. "He's not teasing me about being small, unlike our co-worker Satou-san towards Taneshima-san, so I told him I'd go on a date with a handsome guy to make him jealous." Her face was a mixture of determination and nonchalance, but Shinichi found her statement believable, nonetheless.

"What? Does it work that way?" Sonoko was also finding this kid amusing.

"Wait, you're working already?" Ran asked, finding the girl too young for employment.

"Yup! Part time, but I live in the restaurant." She grinned candidly.

"Come on, the movie's starting," Shinichi called before walking ahead towards the cinema. His usual cool posture with his hands in his pockets made the other two girls ask, "Wait, are you sure about this?"

He didn't look back when he answered, "She was late and no one else claimed to be Yamada Aoi the whole time. And besides, she knew the name of her date even though you didn't mention it and she didn't know Kudo Kaito as the popular guy he is."

"Yay!" Hearing what he said, Aoi rushed towards him and launched herself onto his back for a childish ride.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Shinichi complained in his surprise, but his bodily reaction was to keep her from falling.

"Come on, let's go, Kudo-san!" she piped, swinging her excited feet and pointing enthusiastically towards the cinema entrance. Shinichi just sighed and complied, but a smile never left his face.

"They look more like brother and sister than a couple, ne?" was Ran's comment that made Sonoko agree right away and say, "I think a young girl suits him best. It's making him look less immature."

###

The whole time they've been watching the horror movie, Aoi was focused on the screen, eager to find out what was going to happen. She gets shocked and tensed at the right scenes but she didn't look scared as how Shinichi expected a little girl to be. It amused him enough to say, "You're braver than I thought when it comes to a horror movie." His smirk was shining even in the dark.

"Huh?..." Aoi seemed to be processing his comment slowly as her mind was occupied by the current scene. She slowly turned her head from the big screen and her eyes almost unwillingly followed to look at her date. Seeing his face, though, made her jolt back to this event's purpose and she quickly pulled him so she could hide behind his back, as if he were a shield against the frightening motion picture.

He was caught off guard and ended up getting hung over the armrest between them. Certainly, his position was unbearable but before he could utter a word of complaint, she begged, "It's scary!~ Souma-san is not here, please replace him for a while." Her tone, though, didn't sound sincere, especially when she added, "And make sure we have a picture like this. I'll show it to Souma-san tomorrow."

All he could manage was a dumbfounded smile, which increased in intensity when she muttered, as if deciding by herself, "But if I hide like this, I won't see what will happen, so…" She let go of him and seated properly, returning to her horror-eager self. He, too, was able to fix himself as he listened to her continue, "I have to see how they will defeat the vengeful ghost and her curse so I won't be too scared after watching this and I will know what to do when something like that happens to me." She looked serious about it that he could only watch this unique girl in silent amusement.

A minute passed and Shinichi got curious about the other two who were with them. He looked back and caught Ran hiding behind Sonoko the same way Aoi did with him. Her arms were quivering and her eyes were alternately shutting tight and peeking at the screen. It was currently a suspenseful scene where a female character was daringly (or carelessly) heading inside the most feared, abandoned hospital building without bringing anything or anyone with her. From the looks of it, Ran was expecting a surprise attack or a brutal end of the girl character, that's why she looked like she was asking Sonoko if the scene was over yet. True enough, the scene had a shocking and gruesome conclusion, eliciting an honest shriek of surprise from the three girls.

The young Sherlock merely smiled to himself before discreetly bringing out his cell phone and composing a message. After pressing the send button, he found himself wondering why he even bothered to show some concern. His mind quickly answered him with, _'She's my best friend after all… I must be really having this Kaito-ness towards her.'_ With that, he just shrugged and turned his attention back to the movie.

Ran's shoulders jerked a second time when her phone vibrated out of the blue, as if trying to give her a follow-up scare. She checked it and read, _'If this movie's too scary for you, you don't have to watch it. You two just go somewhere. I'll take care of the pictures; just leave the remote to me.'_

Surprised at first then smiling the next second, Ran replied to him, _'It's okay, don't worry. Sonoko's beside me anyway.'_

After receiving and reading Ran's response, Shinichi merely glanced back and gave her an _'Alright, have it your way' _smirk that she understood and smiled back at.

**######################################################################**

Jumping to the other pair…

"Careful next time~" Kaito reminded the girl in his arms. His voice was still as cheery and melodic as whenever he's trying to annoy Aoko. It seemed like he was the only one in the area who wasn't surprised with the turn of events.

While they were practicing a scene where Aoko had to take a few steps backward, there happened to be a stray box behind her which caused her to stumble. She could've fallen and gotten injured or something if it weren't for Kaito's quick saving actions. He pulled her by the arm but he didn't expect it to be a little too strong so she ended up crashing into his chest. Unconsciously, his other hand quickly made its way onto her back to seize her from rebounding, and that was how they ended up in their current position.

Realization springing forth, the girls around became the first to react. It ranged from a remark of envy towards this lucky girl to sheer fan-girling and fantasizing of being the one to be secured by his hold. The two even have a few shippers now who yelled, "Shinichi-Aoko! That's a good pair!" and "Who would've thought that this play would start a loveteam!" All the while that these comments were said, Aoko was untangling herself from him, her face flushing against her will. This great deal of attention –and certainly not this guy– was making her blush, she knew it.

"Did you hear that, we have our fans already, Aoko-chan!" was Kaito's honestly childish enthusiasm.

"Hmph!" was all she could say before leaving the spotlight. She didn't lose her confident posture as she left looking irritated, and that shone like another adorable trait of hers for the lad.

"Being clumsy is cute, y'know!" he added, gaining a grunt from her.

**######################################################################**

Back in the theater, it was already the time when normal mall-goers have arrived – the _real_ mall opening time has come, in other words. Shinichi and the others sat on the same reserved spot but there were already a lot of other people around. Since the other cinemas were now operational, the show they were watching was the one intended to be played in this particular cinema, the action movie entitled "Rurouni Shinobi" which also happened to be his last movie-date's choice. It was about a modern-day highschooler who is a descendant of real ninja of the earlier centuries. The main character, Shinobi, learned all the ninjutsu his family has known and he was using it to secretly preserve peace in his town, even to the extent of going against a foreign mafia group just to protect the innocent heiress they wanted to assassinate for the sake of wealth.

Putting the movie's plot aside, let's focus on Shinichi's client/partner this time. She goes by the name Ayame and she said her ancestors were also ninjas, thus her choice of movie. She said she was raised as a kunoichi or female ninja and she even offered to show Shinichi her ninjutsu, but he refused upon hearing that she would show him these skills _in private._

At this point, the movie was in its half-time and somehow, Ayame was starting to feel cold. "Kaito-kun~ I'm freezing~" she said as she leaned against her date's upper arm. At first glance, anyone would blame her skimpy clothes for it but Shinichi also noticed the temperature change. He understood that the increased number of people in the place led the operators to increase the coldness, so he knew he had to do something for the comfort of his date.

Assertive as he reckoned her to be, she suddenly hugged his arm, coincidentally letting him feel her womanly front. "I hope you could warm me up, Kaitou-kun~" she said in that affectionate tone again while her hands trailed towards his, tracing circles in his palm when she reached it.

It was awkward enough for him to be arm-bound like this with a girl he just met while knowing that there was a camera monitoring them. But the girl pushed her luck even further. Intertwining their fingers, she said, "Wow, you're hand warmed up my mine really fast. I hope you could also do that to-" Sensing danger, he quickly pulled away before she could put his hand on her exposed thighs –before he was _forced _to sexually harass his date.

"Uh, I know a way to ease the coldness, Ayame-san," he said hurriedly. He was about to stand up but he stopped, as if he suddenly remembered something. The next thing he did was take off his jacket and spread it on her lap. When he met her surprised look, he gave her one of his cool smiles, the edginess in him already gone, and he bid, "Wait here."

Ayame chuckled to herself when he left. "Your son is a good man, Yukiko-san," she mumbled in amusement, "I can't wait to tell you how cute his reactions are~"

Shinichi's managers, on the other hand, wondered why he went out. They were too engrossed in the fight scene of the movie to catch what just happened, so they just assumed he went to the restroom and not 'escaped' or 'ditched his date' or anything similar.

Later on, Ran and Sonoko found themselves astonished when Shinichi arrived and gave them each a cup of hot tea. It came with a little smile from him when he said, "You two must be feeling cold in this movie marathon."

As they accepted the offer, they noticed that he has another pair of hot tea. This made them smile impishly, realizing that this guy was becoming perceptive to his date's needs. Their succeeding comments were about being proud to be the ones who taught him such date protocols, or at least as the ones who reawakened his fan-serving nature that they knew he had.

Upon arriving at his seat, Shinichi was greeted by a hug from none other than his date. Laughing uncomfortably, he unraveled himself from her hold and handed her the hot tea. _'I hope this movie ends soon,' _he thought, sweat-dropping.

**######################################################################**

"As expected from you Aoko-chan, your bento always looks nice!" said a girl in one of the lunch circles assembled on the gym floor. The seniors who were in school for the play rehearsal were having their noon break and there were some who formed groups and had a lunch-together with their friends.

"Really?" Aoko looked doubtful as she checked her own food. "I think it's rather simple. And I'm still an amateur when it comes to cooking."

"Ah yeah, I'll never forget that incident in our baking activity last year," said another girl which made her and the others laugh.

"Why, what happened last year?" They were all surprised when a male voice nonchalantly butted in. When they turned to the source of the voice, they spotted a 'Kudo Shinichi', sitting with them as if it was the most normal thing to do… as if they were close friends ever since high school started. "Did Aoko-chan made the oven go boom?" was his childish follow-up as he leaned over to snatch a slice of Aoko's tonkatsu with the chopsticks he was holding.

While the other girls enthusiastically conveyed the baking incident, Aoko focused on yelling at the epitome of annoyance in front of her. "What are you doing here?! Don't just casually take others' food!" Sadly, he listened not to her but to her friends, laughing at the humorous parts of their tale. "Mou, you're really getting in my nerves!"

"Really? Then, does that mean you're thinking of me more often now?" he asked mischievously, feigning innocence. With that, Aoko threw him the stray basketball that happened to be near her. He caught it easily, though, and then tossed it behind her where it met the other balls piled up in their container. The fact that he kept laughing and acting coolly irritated her to the ends of the world. Good thing he had the initiative to stand up before she could unleash 100% of her strength. But before leaving, he smiled roguishly and said, "Your tonkatsu has the perfect golden brown exterior but you know, I soak the meat in my special marinade before I put them in the flour and so on. Try that, it makes tonkatsu super tasty. I'll give you my recipe if you want."

"I don't care if you're also talented in cooking! I didn't ask for your opinion!" Getting that reply, Kaito walked away from the girls while laughing. He never seems to run out of confidence even if she was always blatantly pushing him away.

**######################################################################**

After watching the action movie (and surviving his seemingly licentious date), Shinichi was now heading towards the next date-stination with his managers. The girls discussed their favorite parts in the movies while he merely listened and kept his detective comments against the movies to himself. He remained walking a few steps behind them until they reached an escalator that was temporarily out of service. It was turned off but people were using it as plain stairs to go down to the floor below. Seeing a familiar situation, Shinichi went beside Ran and took her arm, intending to assist her.

"Ah, Kaito it's alright. I can handle this myself," she refused, smiling sheepishly, but he insisted and eventually won. "You still haven't fully recovered, Ran," he reminded a tad strictly.

The whole week, he has been assisting her when it comes to walking, playing his role as her helpful best friend really well. She managed to turn down his aid when it was on level ground, not wanting to trouble him over a matter as simple as walking. However, when it was particularly about climbing up or down the stairs, he wouldn't accept any refusal; he would find her hand or arm and climb the steps alongside the sprained girl. She was happy that he cared for her that much, but it bothered her a bit after having encountered 'Shinichi' more than twice along the staircases of Teitan. Ran didn't know if she was just that unlucky or if it was fate teasing her or something. To make it worse, 'Shinichi' would always smile at them when he sees what they were doing, looking like a happy spectator of a developing couple. Because of that, she became even more motivated to get better sooner.

Anyway, the next date was a lunch date. No, the next _two dates_ were.

"What? I have to eat lunch and dinner twice today?" Shinichi questioned, more like complained, after Ran told him about the schedule.

"Yeah, just think of it as going all out in a buffet. It's no different from that," was Sonoko's uncaring response.

"Just order a light meal and then talk with her a lot so she won't notice," Ran suggested.

"I don't even know what to talk about with girls I would meet the first time," he reasoned. "It's not as easy as a movie date where we only have to watch a film the whole time."

"Don't tell me you're getting nervous, Kaito~" Sonoko taunted, pointing a wiggly finger at him.

He knew he wasn't nervous. He just knew awkward situations are bound to happen if he would rush to his dates without preparation of any sort. He has lived the life of an above-average famous dude but aside from interviews, case interrogations and accepting letters and gifts from fans, he wasn't forced to go friendly-friendly with anyone he didn't know much. It wasn't like he's a child detective who had to pretend to be innocent and cute just to extract information from witnesses and suspects; he could do that in his own proficient and mature way.

"Just act natural, Kaito," Ran said, catching Shinichi's attention. "Just pretend that it's just us who you are with."

'_Pretend… that it's them?'_

"Just be with them and chat like you've always been friends," she added, smiling.

'_I see, that's right!' _His mental self became enthusiastic. _'Since I am doing good pretending as Kaito and being with these two as their best friend, I can also do that with somebody else that I barely know. I just have to believe that it's part of our switch –that the girls I'm going to date are originally friends with Kaito… someone Kaito should know and treat well, just like Ran. Pretend that it's just Ran, to put it simple.'_

And with that thinking, he was able to go through his lunch dates smoothly. Not to mention, his afternoon arcade-then-shopping-then-arcade-then-shopping dates… He only had to endure physical exhaustion but nonetheless, he was able to have a flowing conversation with the girls and even do acts of kindness towards them naturally and unconsciously.

**######################################################################**

That afternoon following Kaito's play rehearsal, K.I.D. had a band meeting at their usual hangout.

"Kazuha~ what kind of voice do you think suits our new song?" Kaito languidly asked, merely tilting his head to the side and not moving from his slumped position on the couch. As he continued, he fiddled with the unplugged electric guitar in his hands, producing a pleasant melody as a background for their conversation. "Do you think it would go best with a gruff but hot voice? Or a teenage, young-man voice will do?"

"Don't you think it's cool enough to have a distinct voice that would be recognized by fans wherever they hear it?" Ichiro wondered out loud while cleaning his bass guitar.

"That's the case with most singers," Izumi answered without looking away from the music sheet he was editing. "But it also limits the kind of songs they can carry out well. With our Kaito, we can match the right sound with the right mood."

Hearing this made the subject of discussion smile naughtily. "That's right, praise me more~" he mumbled, earning a crispy head-whack from their manager.

"I guess Izumi explained it well enough. Kaito has something distinct in how he sings anyway, but I can't exactly put into words what it is." Kazuha said before plopping on the couch and grabbing a snack from the table. "Anyhow, I admire the fact that BaKaito could change his voice and sing like Alex Band, Pierre Bouvier and Jung Yong Hwa, even if their voices and styles are really different and far from each other."

"Hey, that's an understatement! I can do more than those three," Kaito piped, which caused him to receive another loving head-whack from his manager, who said, "Don't be so full of it, BaKaito." They were all used to him playfully acting bigheaded but they knew that his real persona is someone who's so down to earth and kind, the same thing being the reason why they have a high regard for this talented fellow.

"That aside, can you guys help me choose?" he asked in a more serious manner.

"Since it's not much of a cheerful song, I guess a rough voice like that of Nickelback's vox would be cool," suggested Daigo before he went back to practicing the hardest drum part of the song.

"I'd go for something Jesse McCartney-ish," said Kazuha, squirming like a fan girl with palms on her cheeks. "It kinda reminds me of his song you sang back then, what's it called again? Uh, Just So _Ran_ Knows?" Laughing with the others, she quickly got off the couch before her seatmate could do anything harmful to her. Kaito made an obviously fake angry face before he looked at the other two for their suggestion.

"You're asking me?" said Ichiro, eyes widening like an innocent toddler. "Hmm, how about something similar to Adam Levine's?" He grinned. "His voice is not so deep but his sad songs are good."

"Hm, you have a point there." Kaito took some time to think, fingers rubbing his chin.

"How about your own normal voice instead?" Izumi flatly suggested, which made Kaito look like he just realized a fact.

"But I wonder which of my normal voices would fit this song…"

"Try the most normal one!" The instant he said it, the ever-calm Izumi looked like he had a vein popping on his forehead.

Kaito then tried singing the chorus of their new song using his conversational voice, followed by versions using the three voices they suggested, accompanying his vocals with the guitar he was holding. After his sample, he looked at the others, hoping to get a unanimous decision. With faces looking astounded, they indeed gave him a cohesive opinion, "They all sound good!"

"Geez, we won't be getting anywhere at this rate~" he whined, cupping his forehead with a hand.

"Ordinary people don't get that kind of problem," said the smirking Daigo. "It must be hard to be blessed with a lot of voices, huh?"

"Especially if you can sing with all of them," Kaito added, smiling smugly. He braced himself for another head-whack but was surprised that Kazuha didn't give him one. In contrast she was in her fan girl mode, saying, "Ne, ne, try sounding like Kakihara Tetsuya, please, please~" She was even pulling his sleeve like a little girl with a cute little request. "And Tada Hiroshi of The Sketchbook! And then Hyde, my goodness!~"

"After that, let me hear Sakata Gintoki's seiyuu! Then Isana Yashiro's seiyuu, huh, huh?" Ichiro nudged him.

He couldn't help but face-palm in response. "This isn't a mimicry show!" Sighing, he looked at his phone, the lock screen of which was a picture of the four of them who played with chocolate icing in the karaoke. "If only Ran was here, this thing would've been settled minutes ago. She always comes up with good ideas whenever I am out of them." He wanted to call her, but he knew he couldn't since she was with 'Kaito' right now.

"Yiheeee~~" Kazuha and Ichiro both nudged him with their elbows, smiling foolishly with their eyebrows moving up and down.

"Oh cut it out, you guys! I told you a hundred times already, that matter has long been over," he answered while scratching his head. He wanted to look annoyed but his smile was telling otherwise.

"Speaking of Ran, how is she doing now? You're not bringing her to our practice sessions lately. Did you guys have a fight?" asked the concerned Daigo.

"I miss the snacks that Ran-chan cooks for us~" said Ichiro. "Is her sprain alright now? She's really awesome, winning the karate tournament despite being injured!" he stated before childishly doing karate chops in the air then getting a knock on the head from Izumi whom he almost hit.

"No, we didn't have a fight and yeah, she's almost fully recovered because someone's taking good care of her." Kaito snickered to himself. Before the others could react, he added, "She's just busy with preparations for our play and she's with Sonoko today, managing the da- props and stuff. Ehehe~" He laughed idiotically. "Hey, don't forget to watch our play, alright? I'm gonna be the main-"

"Main character?" asked the thrilled Ichiro.

"No, the main…props…guy." He forced another silly laugh.

**######################################################################**

"Wow, you're a pro at these, Ran!" Sonoko praised her as the latter took another good candid snapshot of the date they were managing without getting noticed by their subject.

"I guess I just learned it from my father. I used to tag along in his stake-out investigations when I was younger."

"Hm~~ Don't tell me you also secretly take pictures of your Prince Shinichi, huh?~" Sonoko teased, making Ran blush while denying the allegation.

The night dates, which were composed of two dinner dates and two walk-along-the-bay-while-watching-fireworks-and-other-mall-sights, were almost finished. Shinichi could barely wait for this day to end, but trying to act professional, he didn't show his anticipation.

His last partner, Reiko, seemed like a summary of all the previous ones so she was quite easy for him to handle. Like most of the girls, she clung onto his arm as they walked -something he has gotten used to this day, after feeling awkward at first- and she got into a dreamy state whenever he did or say something sweet. She was also one of those who asked him to sing a song for them, just as a little romantic something since they already had the chance to be with _the _Kaito of K.I.D. But like what he did with the previous similar requests, he refused, saying, "As much as I wanted to sing for you, I… can't. My throat has been feeling dry and kinda burning today. *coughs* It might develop into laryngitis if I strain my voice box further." Of course this earned him "Aww~" and gestures of concern from those girls. They all wished him to get better soon and even Ran did the same thing when she overheard it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" was Ran's reaction to his excuse the first time she heard it. She even reached for his forehead to check his temperature, the action surprising him to some extent. "It's better for you to see your doctor immediately and get some rest. We'll just call off the remaining dates."

"No, no, I'm fine," was his response backed by waving hands. "It'll be alright as long as I don't sing." At that, he couldn't hold back his guilty grin. "I don't want to disappoint my fans who worked hard to book a date with me." In his mind, his detective-slash-truth-seeking self kept scolding him for becoming a big liar these days. Though, his vain side, the existence of which he didn't know, praised him for answering much like how his brother would answer.

The dates ended in a rather peaceful way. Shinichi half expected that one of the girls would try to insinuate a fervent sort of kiss, and he somehow prepared the right course of action for that, probably influenced by Ayame's conduct earlier. Even so, when two or three girls stole a kiss on his cheek before they left, he didn't mind it. All in all, his day was full of new experiences which were strenuous yet fun in some parts.

"Hm, if we can sell all these pictures, we'll earn 50% more than what we expected," Sonoko stated while checking the camera data as she and Shinichi waited for Ran, who bought some drinks. "One day of dates turned out enough, but if we'll need more funds, we can do this again, ne Kaito?"

"We'll surely earn twice as much in season two," Ran butted in upon her arrival, mirroring Sonoko's evil smile which was just intended to mock the guy.

Shinichi only managed to give them a tired "Noooo~" whine, but he still smiled, knowing (or hoping) they were just kidding. This smile widened when Ran handed him a warm lemon tea, while saying, "Be sure to rest tonight. Don't eat sweets and see your doctor tomorrow."

He chuckled before nodding, "Hai, okaasan~"

She just smiled and added, "Want me to go with you to the doctor tomorrow?"

Hearing that, he shook his head vehemently, saying, "No need, I'll be fine by myself." He decided to change the topic before they could dig deeper into his false throat problem. "Hey, whose date ideas are these anyway?" he asked in his turn to check the pictures. "Did our clients give the date plan upon purchase?"

"No, it was our idea," Sonoko answered proudly. "They only chose among the different date methods."

This planted a half-hearted smile on his face. _'Then the tiresome shopping dates must be your idea.'_

"Those are like our ideal mall dates," Ran followed, grinning. "Fun, aren't they?"

Shinichi showed them a slothful look. "If I only had to watch a movie, eat lunch, go shopping, play in the arcade, eat dinner and walk along the bay ONCE, then that would've been what we can call _fun_."

Ran merely laughed at him before she proposed a different topic. "Hey, you haven't given me a prize for winning in the tournament! It has been a week already." She claimed childishly.

He has heard about these customary stuff between his brother and Ran, so he had no objections and just said sluggishly, "Want a free date?"

"I'm not one of your fans, you know~" She pretended to be snobbish, crossing her arms in the process.

"Really?" He smirked. "How about a date with my brother then?"

"Don't joke around like that!" After hearing that line, he found himself pushed a few meters away by a girl who was cupping her furiously blushing cheeks. Apparently, her fan girl switch has been turned on and all he could hear from her later on were quick mumbles that sound like, "If Shinichi and I go on a date, even if it's just a for-sale one like this, I wonder what we'll do… It's hard to choose just one out of those date options that we came up with~ No, I guess anything would be fantastic and memorable 'cause it's with Shinichi. But what outfit would I have him wear? Nyaaa~ anything would most likely suit him anyway!"

Shinichi couldn't help but chuckle, finding her amusing. _'She's really different when it's about me.' _He then thought of an idea to tease the still-dreamy Ran. He looked to one side and said, "Hey, Shinichi! Fancy meeting you here! Have you been there the whole time? Did you hear what Ran said?"

"Waaahhh! Shinichi's here?!" In a split second, Ran grabbed Sonoko towards a nearby fast food store, hiding behind its mascot's statue, saying, "It's so embarrassing…"

"Relax, Ran. BaKaito is just screwing with you." The smirking Sonoko pointed towards the laughing 'Kaito'. Seeing this made Ran rush to him to scold him, and they ended up having one of their usual good-humored squabble and teasing.

Despite his long, eventful day, Shinichi had a relaxing laughter with Ran. He didn't know how but it felt like his exhaustion was fading away. Maybe that's what best friends really do – enliven each other.

**######################################################################**

To be continued :)

**######################################################################**

**Notes:**

1. Milly is from Code Geass :p she's really not like typical girls who gets shy when it's about the (female) body and there was even a picture of her (in one of the ending songs, I think) holding her friend's boobs as if measuring it with her hands XD

2. Asakura Yoh (of Shaman King :p) actually said "If tears are perspiration of the heart, then perspiration are tears of the body." I think he was actually pointing out how his body was crying because of the trainings he had to do.

3. In the drama movie date, both Lucy (got her from Fairy Tail :p) and Ran coincidentally have a special attachment to their fathers (or so I assume, since they lived with only their fathers for quite a long time XD) that's probably why they cried XD

4. Yamada Aoi, Souma, Satou and Taneshima are from the anime "Working!" :p Upon Aoi's introduction in the anime, she did that "my age is the same as yours" thing when the main character asked about it XD In one episode, she was really scared after reading a horror book, but since it was actually her who read the book aloud as her friends listened, I guess she's the type who gets scared _after_ the horror story/show, just like how I used to be :P

5. I got Ayame from Gintama. She's more known as Sa-chan there and she's the type of girl who shows her feelings/attraction to the person she likes (the main character, Gintoki) in a persistent, stalker-ish and assertive but funny way. In here, she became either Yukiko's friend or a hired ninja who was asked to check on Kaito. XD

**Rei-chu: **I disclaim these other anime and anime characters that are mentioned randomly. I guess we can call it a way of recommending my favorites to my cherished readers! XD but it's funny how this turned out to be somewhat like a cross-over XD Anyway, there's chapter 13 for you! :D did you like it? Please tell me through a review ^_^ you can comment on the dialogues or scenes that you liked, tell me what you expected or the things that surprised you, give me suggestions or ideas for the future chaps, or simply tell me you're happy XD (but I do encourage you to write aaaall that came to your mind while or after reading this chappie n_n) Reading your reviews really makes me happy and gives me a boost! they're like my drugs…or coffee XD

THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who read this fic, and to those who kept up with Twins despite the long wait, those who re-read Twins while they wait~~ and those who give reviews! and those who add Twins (or me) to their favorites and alerts! and those who gave reviews to almost every chapter! XD and those who give reviews but I couldn't reply to because they were not signed in, like _conan-kun143_ and _shinranislove_! kyaaaaaa!~ you all make me happyyyy!~ \(^o^)/

Oh, have you read '_Twins Prequel_'? (It's like the younger twin brother of this fic! XD) If not, then, you know what to do~ XD as for the next chapter of Twins, here are some clues… Vague Trailer, play!

_Someone stalks someone to know more about someone…_

_Someone hears someone sing something that made someone realize something…_

_Someone is getting closer to someone, yet it still seems far from what's true…_

Feel free to guess! and find out what happens when Chapter14 comes out! :P

_Someone is going to submit a review and hopefully, someone will update sooner!~ XD_


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